I Will Always Be Your Soldier
by meg121186
Summary: Three years after graduating Yale, Rory has the dream job she's always wanted and in the process unexpectedly meets an old friend. What happens when that dream job becomes a nightmare? Who will be there to help her? Will she accept their help?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Gilmore Girls and it's characters belong to the Palladino's. The song that inspired this fic belongs to the Backstreet Boys, especially Nick Carter as he wrote the lyrics.

 **AN:** I originally planned this as a one-shot, but upon first posting it, I received a lot of feedback wanting it to continue so that is what I will do. If you read it before you'll notice it's different. I'm not as fond of this without the lyrics breaking up the thoughts of Rory and Tristan, but it came to my attention that having the lyrics was a copyright issue so I decided to removed them. I instead am breaking up their different thoughts by putting Tristan's in italics. Anyway, so this is a fic that has been in my head for awhile now. I know it goes against everything the Gilmore Girls believe, but I am a Backstreet Boys fan, have been for 20+ years. And their song "Soldier" from their album, "In A World Like This," is one of my favorites. Whenever I listen to that song I think of Rory and Tristan if they met years later after Rory graduated from Yale and became an overseas correspondent and Tristan joined the military. Feel free to listen to the song as you read this first chapter.

* * *

 **I Will Always Be Your Soldier**

* * *

In the three years since graduating from Yale and watching Logan walk away, Rory Gilmore had tried to move on. She didn't miss Logan as much as she missed what they had and wanted it again. She just hadn't been lucky enough to find that right person. So, she filled her time with work and meaningless nights spent out with coworkers and friends of friends that never went past the third date. She had built herself a successful career, first writing for the Obama campaign and his inauguration when he was elected before taking a job writing for The Washington Post; her twice a week column eventually turning into the job she had always wanted.

 _It had been nearly ten years since he last saw her, but not even ten minutes since he last thought about her. As much as he tried to forget her, tried to forget the way the blue in her eyes shined brighter if she was in a good mood or darker if she was upset about something; the way she would tug her hair behind her ear as he watched her from his seat behind her; and even more how silky and soft her lips felt against his that one time she let him kiss her, but he couldn't. There always seemed to be something that reminded him of her: a song on the radio, the color of the sky as it cleared after a rainstorm, or even just few words someone mumbled in passing._

 _It was those words that brought her to his mind today. He tended to ignore the names. He didn't want to read about or know anything of the people they were tasked to save. Not knowing made it easier if they couldn't bring everyone home safe, but he couldn't ignore the name that came out of his Captain's mouth as he read off a list names of the captives, the one tearing through him like a knife to the heart._

 _"Mary!"_

As she sat there on the hard, cold floor among her fellow journalists in the one room building that had been their, she didn't really want to call it home, but had been their residence for the last two weeks, Rory couldn't help but think and wonder if she made the right choices with her life. Many times since her college graduation as she saw her friends happy with their boyfriends, husbands, and families she wondered if she had made the right choice, but as she sat there in the dirty room, her clothes torn, her stomach empty she wondered even more. Had she said yes to Logan would she be in this situation right now? Would she have become the journalist she had always dreamed of being? It had been so long since she felt any semblance of the love and happiness she felt when she was with Logan and now as she sat there fearing for her life, she feared she may never feel it again.

 _If anyone found out he had a personal connection to one of the captive journalists they were attempting to free, Tristan knew he would be in trouble, but he didn't care. He would gladly accept any punishment, demotion, or whatever his Captain saw fit to give him, just to have the chance to hold his "Mary" in his arms one more time._

 _As they reached the house where the journalists were being held they quickly split up into the groups the Captain arranged before they left; one team tasked to take out the guards surrounding the building, one watching for snipers, and the last to enter the building and bring the journalists out. Tristan was in the last group._

 _"DuGrey, Adams, stick close to me," the Captain told them as they breached the door, unsure of what they would find on the other side._

 _"Oh dear God," Adams said as they entered the room._

 _"Check them all," the Captain instructed as he knelt down next to one of the immobile bodies that lay in room, checking for a pulse and finding none._

Hearing the sounds of gunshots outside the door, Rory laid down and covered herself with the thin scrap of blanket that she been given. Part of her hoped this was the end, that when whoever was outside breached the door it would all be over and she would no longer be in pain or afraid of each passing day. As she laid there listening to the gunshots she realized the gunfire was the first sound she had heard in days. When she was first thrown into this room she heard sounds all the time or rather she heard voices. She realized in that moment that she stopped hearing the voices of her fellow journalists days before. She was the only one left.

 _Tristan feared the worst as they checked one body after the other and neither of them finding a pulse. They were all gone, but so far none of them were his "Mary." Where was she?_

 _"Did you guys see that?" the Captain asked, pointing to a spot in the corner where he thought he saw movement beneath a small blanket, "Careful DuGrey."_

 _"Yes, sir," Tristan told him as he approached the blanket covered person, gingerly pulling the cover away from the person's head, "Mary!"_

It took a lot of begging and even more apologizing for keeping his history with Rory to himself before his Captain agreed to let Tristan stay with her in the base hospital until she woke up. From the looks of things she had been alone in that room for days when they found her. Her fellow journalists had long ago succumbed to starvation, dehydration and a couple died from strokes or heart attacks due to the stress of being held captive. Yet, somehow, Rory survived. Sure she was severely dehydrated, thinner than Tristan remembered her being, and she was covered in bruises, but she was alive.

 _ **And if your heart is getting colder you know I will always be your soldier**_

He was shaken from his thoughts by Rory's scream as she woke for the first time since they found her.

"Mary, Mary, calm down," he told her, laying his hand gently on her arm to calm her down as she thrashed around in the bed, "You're safe. You're safe."

"Tristan?" she questioned as she opened her eyes, the blue dimmer than Tristan remembered, but beginning to shine brighter as she took in her surroundings and calmed at the the sight of the familiar face in front of her, "It wasn't a dream. I heard your voice when I was in that room. You called me Mary. You, you saved me."

Sitting on the edge of her bed, he took her hand in his, running his thumb over the back, he said, "I'll always save you, my Mary."

* * *

 **So, Reviews? Thoughts? More to come soon!  
**


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: "It's like she's putting up this front so everyone will leave her alone."

* * *

"Mom, I swear to you, I'll be fine," Rory told her as they packed Lorelai's things into her suitcase the night before Lorelai was set to fly back to Connecticut.

"You're absolutely sure, kid?" Lorelai asked, "Because I can stay as long as you need me?"

"I know Mom, but you've already been here a month," Rory said.

It had been six weeks since Rory was rescued. She spent the first two weeks after being found in the army hospital at Tristan's base. He refused to let them send her anywhere else and after speaking with his commanding officer, he was granted a temporary leave of duty so he could stay with her to monitor her progress. Rory didn't mind. She liked having a familiar face near her after the two weeks she spent in captivity.

After two weeks in the hospital she had gained back some of the weight she lost and some of the color was back in her cheeks. After those two weeks, she was beginning to look like Tristan's, Mary.

"Seriously, Mom," Rory said, "You have a husband and an inn that need you. It's time you went home."

"While I do miss Luke and I pray that Michel and Sookie haven't killed each other and that the inn is still standing after leaving those two in charge together, but I worry about you," Lorelai said.

"I'm a big girl, Mom. I'll be fine. You don't need to worry about me," Rory told her.

"I always worry about you. It's in the "How To Be A Good Mom" handbook," Lorelai said, "It's my job."

Even though Rory told Lorelai she was fine, she was nervous about being alone. She hadn't been alone since her last day in that room. Tristan had stayed by her side the whole time she was in the hospital. Rory fell asleep every night in the hospital with Tristan's hand in hers as he sat in the reclining chair next to her with his head rested on the edge of the bed. Then when she came back to the states, Lorelai was waiting for her when she landed at Ronald Reagan, promising to stay as long as Rory needed her to.

During that first month she was home, Rory's apartment was flooded with visitors from her grandparents, her Dad, and Luke, to her friends, Lane and Paris. They all came and stayed with Rory and Lorelai for a few days at a time before needing to return home for work or school, or in Lane and Christopher's case, their kids. But now, with Tristan having spent every night next to the first two weeks and Lorelai in the next room, ready to wake her from a nightmare, Rory was going to be alone and it scared her.

She was scared of the nightmares that would come when she was left alone in her quiet apartment, but she needed to do this; she needed to stand on her own.

* * *

"I'll miss you kid," Lorelai said as they stood together, just outside the airport.

"I'll miss you, too, Mom," Rory said, hugging her tight, "Say 'Hi' to Luke for me?"

"Of course," Lorelai told her, brushing away a stray tear, "Now, you're sure you're okay? I can change my flight if you need me."

"I'm sure. I'll be fine," Rory said, taking a deep breath so she wouldn't start crying, too, "Let me know when you land?"

"Absolutely," Lorelai said, giving Rory one last hug before picking up her bag and heading into the airport.

* * *

Stopping for takeout and a few bottles of wine on her way home, Rory arrived back at her apartment an hour after dropping Lorelai off at the airport. Placing her purse and the Chinese on the counter, she placed two bottles of the wine in the refrigerator to get cold. Turning around, she noticed the red, blinking light of her answering machine on the end table in the living room. No one ever really called her on her house phone. She kept it simply in case her cell died and someone couldn't reach her or she needed to reach them. She also found it helpful to leave herself messages if she was out gathering intel for a story. She always carried a pen a paper with her, but sometimes leaving herself a message was easier, especially if an idea for a story came to her while she was driving.

 _"Hey, Rory, it's Tris…."_ the sole message on the machine began before she quickly deleted it. Tristan had been calling her several times week, leaving voicemail's on her cell phone or sending her text messages that she deleted without listening or reading them. Now he had taken to leaving her messages on her answering machine knowing she couldn't stand to leave the red light blinking and would have to listen to the message and hear his voice, even for a second, but she wasn't ready. She knew that like her Mom, Tristan was worried about her, but she just wasn't ready to talk to him. Talking to him meant thinking about what happened to her and she wasn't ready to do that yet.

* * *

"Still no answer?" Tristan's friend and bunk-mate, Rob Adams asked, when he noticed Tristan ending the call on his phone, setting it down on his bed with a sigh.

"Nothing. It's been a month and she won't answer any of my calls," Tristan told him.

"But, she's alright though, isn't she?" Adams asked.

"Yeah, I mean I guess, physically she's alright," Tristan told him, "I've talked to Lorelai a few times and she said she's fine, but I don't know. I just wish she'd talk to me so I could know for sure."

"Her Mom wouldn't say she was fine if she wasn't," Adams told him.

"No, she wouldn't, but Rory also wouldn't tell Lorelai if wasn't either. She would insist to Lorelai that she's fine so she doesn't worry," Tristan said.

"Has she gone back to work?" Adams asked.

"Not fully, no. Lorelai said the paper wouldn't let her go back to full duty right away," Tristan told him, "She's been going to the paper three days a week, but she's not writing."

"What's she doing then?" Adams asked.

"Fact checking, mostly, some proof reading, I think," Tristan said, "I don't know, really. Lorelai just said she hasn't written anything or picked up a book since she's been home."

"Has she gone to the doctor the Captain recommended?" Adams asked.

"Yeah. Lorelai said she goes, but she has no idea what Rory says or if she says anything for that matter," Tristan said, "It's like she's putting up this front so everyone will leave her alone. I don't know what to do. I've still got another five months here. I just wish she would talk to me."

"She will. She just needs time. You know how it is. We all handle this stuff differently. Maybe this is her handling it. She'll talk to you and deal with what she's feeling when she's ready," Adams said.


	3. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thank you so much for the reviews and the follows! I'm glad you guys are liking this story.

* * *

Chapter 2: "I've had four pots of coffee today."

* * *

Two weeks after Lorelai returned home, Rory had, had enough of the nightmares. Every time she closed her eyes she saw her captors, felt their hands on her body, the restraints on her wrists that tore through her skin as she tried to free herself before the next beating. She had tried doing the techniques her therapist recommended; trying to relax throughout the day and just before bed, taking deep breaths when she felt overwhelmed, even picking up a new or old hobby to occupy her mind, but nothing worked, she couldn't stop the nightmares.

"Hey, sweets, how are you?" Lorelai asked, calling her daughter just before bed one evening.

"I'm good, Mom. How are you?" Rory asked, her voice a littler higher and peppier than normal.

"Fine, uh are you sure you're alright, Rory?" Lorelai asked, "You sound like me after my fourth trip to Luke's for a refill."

"I'm fine, it's probably just the coffee," Rory said.

"How much coffee?" Lorelai asked.

"I don't know, three, maybe four," Rory said.

"Cups?" Lorelai asked.

"No silly, pots. I've had three, maybe four. No, it's definitely four. I forgot the one I had at work," Rory said, "I've had four pots of coffee today."

"Honey, I love my coffee more than most and I know we can handle a lot of it, but four pots. Sweets, you'll be lucky to get any sleep this week, let alone tonight," Lorelai told her.

"That's the idea," Rory mumbled, pouring herself another cup.

"What was that?" Lorelai asked.

"Nothing, I've got it handled. I've got some paper stuff I've been dealing with and I need to work on it. I guess I just didn't realize how much I was drinking, but I'm fine," Rory said, "I don't work tomorrow. I'm sure the buzz will wear off soon and I can sleep all day tomorrow."

"Okay, if you're sure," Lorelai said.

"I'm sure. Have a good night, Mom," Rory said, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Sweets. Goodnight," Lorelai said.

* * *

After two weeks of guzzling coffee in hopes of staying up to avoid her nightmares, Rory found it wasn't working any more. She was able to stay up for two days straight, but found herself crashing on the third day and even though her mind and body were extremely tired, the nightmares still came. She continued the pattern though because a nightmare every three days was better than having one every night.

"So, Miss Gilmore, when was your last nightmare?" Doctor Rhodes asked Rory during her weekly therapy session.

"Three nights ago," Rory told her, taking a sip of her cup of coffee, the second since she came into her doctor's office fifteen minutes earlier.

"And the last time you slept?" the doctor asked her.

"Three nights ago," Rory said, avoiding her eyes, instead turning her face towards the window that looked out onto the city, "Did I ever tell you how much I admire the view from your window?"

"Yes, I believe you have," Doctor Rhodes said, "Every time you wish to change the subject."

"I need more coffee," Rory said, getting up to refill her cup again from the pot in the room.

"You don't need coffee. You need to sleep," Doctor Rhodes said.

"You say it like it's easy. Like I don't want to sleep, I do. I'm tired all the time and antsy and shaky," Rory said, "I'm even beginning to hate the taste of coffee I've been drinking so much of it. I wish I could sleep, but…"

"But what? What happens when you sleep?" she asked.

"I'm alone. I'm alone in my apartment. There's no one there to wake me when a nightmare comes so my mind is filled with all these images and memories," Rory said, "And it's quiet."

"What's quiet? Your apartment?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"Yes, during the day when I'm at work or just out it's loud. There's people everywhere. At home, especially at night. It's quiet. And it reminds me of…"

"What does it remind you of Rory? What was quiet?"

"The room I was in. At first it was loud. There were so many of us, talking and screaming, begging to be let go, then one day it was quiet; silent even. There were no other sounds," she said, "I couldn't hear anything but the sound of my own heart beating and my jagged breathing."

"What happened to make it so quiet?" the doctor asked.

"They died. All of them. It was like one moment we are telling each other about our work and our families, trying to comfort each other and let the time pass and the next I was alone," Rory said, wiping away a tear that had fallen, "Why did I survive? I'm not any stronger than any of those other men and women. Why did they die and I'm still here?"

"I can't answer that Rory. You'll never know why you survived while they didn't, but you shouldn't feel guilty because you made it out," Doctor Rhodes said.

"Why not? They had families, wives, children. All these people that love them and needed them. I'm alone," Rory said.

"You may live alone, but that doesn't mean you are alone and don't have people that love you and need you," Doctor Rhodes said, "Your mother, your grandparents, all your friends."

"Yeah, I know, but it still just doesn't feel right," Rory said.

"And it probably won't for awhile, but Rory you can't focus on why you're alive and the others aren't. Maybe there's some profound reason for it or maybe it's just luck, but for whatever reason, you're here," Doctor Rhodes told her, "For whatever reason, you survived the gravest thing you'll ever experience. You're young. You have your whole life ahead of you now. Enjoy it."

"I hear what you're saying and I know you're right, but it's hard. Every time I close my eyes I'm back in that damn room surrounded by silence," Rory said.

"Are you ready to try something to help you sleep?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"Will it help?" Rory asked.

"It might. For some patients it works right away and they sleep soundlessly eight hours a night. For others it can take a few days or not work at all and we have to try something else," Doctor Rhodes said.

"I'll try," Rory said.

"Great. I'll call the prescription in for you so it's ready to be picked up and you can start tonight. Just remember to take it early enough so you give yourself enough hours to sleep, okay," Doctor Rhodes said.

"Right. Thank you," Rory said.

"You're welcome," Doctor Rhodes said, "So, same time next week?"

"I'll see you then," Rory said.

"And Rory?" Doctor Rhodes called to her as she walked towards the door.

"Yeah?" Rory asked, turning around.

"You have my number so remember you can call me anytime you want to talk or when the quiet gets to be too much," Doctor Rhodes said.

"Thank you," Rory said, giving her a slight smile before walking out of her office.

* * *

After picking up her prescription for the sleeping pill Doctor Rhodes prescribed for her, Rory headed into to work for the rest of the day. Having told her editor she was feeling good and ready to do more work she had been given a few small assignments. She wasn't sure if she was ready to go back to writing her column or if she even wanted to at all. Right now she was happy to just be writing and glad that she wanted to. When she first came home she told her mom she wanted to quit, but Lorelai told her she shouldn't make any rash decisions and to think about it for awhile. So, after talking it over with her editor she decided to wait and take a break from writing, but after a few weeks her journalistic instincts were begging to write something.

"Hey, Rory?" Alex, a fellow reporter who had, had a crush on Rory since she started at the paper called to her as she was packing up to leave for the evening.

"What's up Alex?" Rory asked, grateful he hadn't asked how she was doing. The first few days she was back at the paper people kept coming up to her wanting to ask what it was like and how she was doing. She didn't blame them, as journalists they were curious, but after awhile it became too much and when she snapped at a new girl that recently started and hadn't heard yet what happened to Rory and was asking how she was just to make polite conversation, they stopped asking.

"A bunch of us our going out to the bar. Do you want to join us?" he asked.

"Um, sure why not," Rory said, "It's been a long time since we all hung out there."

"Great. I'll wait for you downstairs and we can walk over together," Alex said.

"Sure, just let me take this," Rory said as her office phone began to ring, "Rory Gilmore?"

"So you do actually answer your phone," Tristan said.

"Well this one doesn't have caller i.d," Rory said, wishing she had gone down with Alex and let her phone go to voicemail.

"That's too bad. I guess you have to talk to me now," he said, "How are you?"

"Fine," Rory told him.

"Rory!" he said.

"What, I'm fine. It's been two months. I'm healed. I'm back to my old weight. I'm writing. Everything's good," she told him, "Now, I have to go. My coworkers are waiting for me."

"Rory, wait…" he began.

"Goodbye, Tristan," Rory said, before hanging up the phone, wiping a few tears away. She felt bad being so short with him, but she couldn't talk to him. Talking to him brought back the memories and memories brought back the nightmares. She needed to avoid that. She had the sleeping pills from her doctor but she couldn't guarantee they would work and she could already feel herself crashing from the coffee. She would sleep tonight. She just needed to do it without dreaming. She needed to drink. She needed to get drunk.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: "Fine, I'll take my business elsewhere,"

* * *

"Hit me again, barkeep," Rory said, pushing her empty glass aside, "And make it a double this time."

"That's your fourth glass in two hours," the bartender said.

"Did I ask you to keep count? No. I asked you to pour me another drink," Rory told him.

It had been a few weeks since that night out with her co-workers. And after getting herself smashingly drunk, Rory was able to go home and pass out, nightmare free. Since then she's gone out with the group from work every weekend, but has also been going to the bar down the street from her apartment a few times a week.

"Look, I appreciate the concern, but I'm fine. I live two minutes from here. I can walk home no problem. I have pepper spray in my purse, plus I have the number to a cab company on speed dial," Rory told the bartender, "I'm fine. Now will you please just pour me my drink like I asked."

"Fine," he said, pouring the bourbon into her empty glass. It was drink of choice for the night. As much as he hated to continue to pour her drinks he was glad she was smart enough not to mix her alcohols and since she had stayed until closing the first night she came in he had seen her walk home as he was locking up and knew it was in fact close and within sight of the front door so he could make sure she got home okay if she needed it, "But this is the last one."

"Yeah, yeah," Rory said.

"I mean it. Finish this and I'll call you a cab," he said, "Or better yet, I'll close the place down and take you home myself if I have to."

"Whatever," Rory said, picking up her glass and walking away from the bar, taking a seat at a nearby table as her phone rang, "Ugh, seriously. When will I get a reprieve. Why, hello Sergeant DuGrey. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

* * *

"Tristan?" she asked when he didn't respond after a few minutes.

"Are you drunk?" Tristan asked.

"Possibly, what's it to you? Shouldn't you be working or something or do you spend all your time calling to see if I'll answer?" she asked, "And what are you even doing up right now anyway, it's like five AM?"

"Five-thirty, actually," Tristan said, "I'm always up this early. I've been getting up by five AM since military school."

"Gross, I don't think my clock has a five AM," Rory said, swirling the alcohol in her glass before taking another sip.

"Are you alright, Rory?" Tristan asked.

"I'm fine," she said, taking another sip.

"Are you sure because while I'm glad to hear your voice, you usually ignore my calls," Tristan said, "I'm surprised you answered."

"I blame it on the alcohol," Rory said, finishing off the last of the glass, "And now I have to go."

"Don't. Talk to me," Tristan said.

"There's nothing to talk about. My glass is empty. I need another drink," Rory said.

"I think that's the last thing you need, Rory," he told her.

"You're calling me Rory," she said, running her finger along the rim of her empty glass, "I have to go. I'll, uh, I'll talk to you soon, Tris."

"Yeah, sure, I can believe…." Tristan said as Rory ended the call, not listening to the rest of what he had to say.

"One more," Rory said, setting her empty glass on the bar.

"No, I don't know what's going on, but I'm done serving you," the bartender said.

"Fine, I'll take my business elsewhere," Rory said, tossing a few bills on the counter to cover the costs of her drinks, throwing her purse over her shoulder as she quickly turned to leave, walking straight into another customer as she walked towards the door.

"Woah, easy, there. Are you alright?" the man asked, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her.

"Logan?" Rory questioned, looking up into the eyes of the man she hadn't seen since he walked away from her the day she graduated from Yale.

"Ace?" Logan asked, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," she said, noticing he was still holding on to her, "You can let go now."

"Sorry," he said, laying his hands down at his sides, "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Goodbye, Logan" she said, taking a step towards the door again, swaying a bit as she did.

"I hate to disagree with you Ace, but you are far from fine," Logan said, "Come on, I'll take you home."

"I can get myself home," she said, brushing his arm away as he placed it around her shoulder.

"Really because from where I'm standing, you're about five seconds away from passing out," Logan said, placing his arm back around her, preparing himself to catch her if she did in fact pass out.

"Fine!" she said.

* * *

The next morning Rory woke up to her head pounding, unsure of how she got home. The last she remembered was hanging up on Tristan. She was still dressed in her clothes from the night before so she knew that however she got home, nothing had happened.

"Oh, good you're up. I've got tacos and a fresh pot of coffee," Logan said when Rory came out into the living room after showering and changing her clothes.

"Logan?" Rory asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I stayed to make sure you were okay," he told her.

"Stayed? You stayed here? How? When?" she asked.

"You don't remember?" he asked.

"I remember being at the bar down the street. I was on the phone and...I don't remember coming home," she said, "Did you bring me home?"

"I did. I was walking into the bar as you were trying to storm out. You ran into me and ended up passing out in my arms," Logan said, "You're lucky I caught you."

"Well, thanks. And thanks for the tacos," Rory said, picking one up and taking a bite, "Mmm, so good. So what are you doing in D.C. anyway?"

"I'm checking out a paper for my dad," Logan told her.

"Your dad? I thought you were done with HPG?" Rory asked.

"I was, but…" he began.

"What?" Rory asked.

"California wasn't what I thought it would be," he told her.

"Oh?" she asked.

"I liked my job and I was good at it, but for the first time in my life I was alone," he said, "Truly alone. No family, no friends…"

"No girlfriend," Rory added.

"Yeah," he said.

"Logan…" Rory began, "I...I don't really know what to say except I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's my fault. You weren't ready and I pushed it," Logan said, "I told you we would factor each other in and then I went and made all those plans with the job and the house without discussing anything with you first and I should have. It took me a long time to realize that. I spent a lot of time just being mad at you."

"So did I. I was hurt though, more than anything. I mean, as much as I didn't want you to go to London I knew you needed to go, if not because it was what Mitchum wanted, but for yourself, too," Rory said, "You needed that time and experience to forgive yourself out and decide who you truly wanted to be. If I agreed to marry you and went with you to California I wouldn't have had that chance."

"I know. I do, really, at least I know that now. I know that saying no to my proposal wasn't saying no to me or to us, but you wanting your chance to see what was out there and what you could do," Logan said.

"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder though," she said.

"What?" he asked.

"What if I said 'yes.' I wondered that for awhile after you walked away and during the campaign," she said, "Even more the past few months. I think that if I had said 'yes' we would have been engaged for awhile and married shortly after, mostly likely still on the west coast. I'd be working for a paper out there and I wouldn't have...I, maybe wouldn't have gone overseas."

"Rory. I wish like hell that didn't happen to you. From the moment I first heard your name associated with the list of missing journalists I wanted to reach out to your mom or your grandparents and then when you came back I wanted to come see you, but…" he said.

"But what?" Rory asked.

"It wasn't my place anymore. I walked away and while I still cared about you, I didn't have any right to bother your mom or anyone," he said.

"You could have asked. Or called," she said.

"Would you have answered?" he asked.

"Honestly, I don't know," she said, "I've been ignoring most calls lately."

"I know. Your phone rang three times last night and twice this morning. All the same number," he said.

"Yeah, persistent," Rory said.

"You should call him back," Logan said.

"What?" she asked.

"DuGrey. You should call him back," Logan said.

"How do you know who was calling?" Rory asked.

"He called your house phone after you didn't answer your cell. I saw on the caller I.D. it was the same number and picked it up when he started leaving a message," Logan said.

"You shouldn't have done that, Logan," Rory said.

"I'm sorry, but he sounded worried and I wanted him to know you were alright," Logan said, "He cares about you."

"Doesn't mean I have to talk to him," Rory said.

"No, but you should and you know it. I don't know the guy personally, but I remember him being around at a few parties and such growing up. He's a good guy Ace, you should give him a chance or at least talk to him," Logan said.

"Everytime I talk to him he asks how I'm doing and...I just really don't want to talk about it," Rory said.

"Then don't. Ask him questions about how he's doing or ask him something random," Logan said, "You haven't really spent any time with the guy since high school so use these phone calls to get to know each other again."

"Why are you encouraging this?" she asked.

"Because I think he could be good for you," he said, "We talked for awhile and he seems like a great guy. I think he could make you happy and you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, Logan," Rory said, "You know, you deserve to be happy, too."

"You're welcome and actually I am. I am pretty happy," he told her.

"Are you seeing someone?" Rory asked.

"For a few months now. Her name is Ashlee. She was actually the one who first saw your name and told me you were missing," Logan said, "We had only been on a few dates at that point, but we knew each other for awhile. We actually met out in California a couple months after I moved out there, but she was only there on vacation."

"She lives out here?" Rory asked.

"New York. And I wasn't ready to date anyone when we first met anyway, but she told me if I ever found myself back on the east coast to look her up," Logan said.

"And you did," she said.

"Yeah. I've been back about a year and finally a few months ago I called her and told her I was living here again and we went out," he said, "I had told her a bit about you when I first met her in Palo Alto. She's a psychologist and she's really good at reading people so she knew I was not in the best place at the time and offered to listen if I wanted to share my feelings."

"That's how she knew who I was and told you what was going on," Rory said.

"Yeah. She actually told me it would be okay for me to call you or Lorelai, but the idea still felt like it wasn't my place or like I was betraying her," he said.

"Does she know you're here now, with me?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. I called her after I got you home. She said I should stay to be sure you were okay and so we could talk about everything. She wants to meet you if and when you're up for it," Logan said.

"Really? That won't be like extremely awkward and weird?" Rory asked.

"Probably. If we do it I can always ask Colin and Finn to join us," Logan said.

"That will definitely make it interesting," Rory said, "It's been ages since I've seen them. I actually miss Finn and his crazy drunken antics."

"Speaking of. What was last night all about, Ace? I've seen you drunk before, but not like that?" Logan asked.

"It helps stop the nightmares," she said.

"Rory, you really should talk to someone about that," he said.

"I have, but talking about it just seems to make it worse. Unless I've drank enough coffee to keep myself awake so I don't sleep or pass out after a few drinks, the nightmares are there," she said.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be. Just something I have to live with," Rory said.

"I'm sure it will get better, Ace. It's just going to take time," Logan told her, "You can't expect it to get easier or go away overnight."

"I know, but it's been months. I thought the nightmares would be gone by now," Rory said, "Or at least easier to deal with."

"It will only get easier when you feel better talking about it. Holding in your fears and feelings isn't good and you know it," Logan said.

"You're right," she said.

* * *

 **AN:** I know, I know. It's been forever since I've posted a chapter for this story and I have no good excuses so I won't give you one. I hope I've made up for it by having this one be a little longer. And I hope Logan came across okay. This is the first time I've really had to write for him. He is in my Rory & Riley series, but since that is an AU, Logan is more of a background character and for this story he needed to be sort of the Logan we got, but with him realizing the problem I always saw with his proposal. The fact that he seemed to completely forget their talk in Hay Bale Maze. Anyway. Happy reading and I promised not to take this long to post another chapter again!


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: "You're not here to steal her are you?"

* * *

Logan spent most of the day with Rory before getting back to his hotel. He offered to stay another night with her, but she insisted he go back to his hotel, telling him she would be fine, but would be up for the lunch the next day after he visited the paper he came to see.

"Gilmore?" Rory heard as she sat in her office researching for an article, looking up to see her editor coming in.

"Yes?" Rory asked.

"Do you like working here, Rory?" he asked, "You're happy here? No plans to leave?"

"No, why?" she asked.

"Care to explain to me why a Huntzberger is downstairs asking for you?" he asked.

"Oh, right. Damn, he's early," Rory said, looking at her watch.

"Hey, Ace," Logan said, walking past her editor to come into her office, giving her a kiss on the cheek, "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah, just let me save this and we can go," Rory said.

"Logan Huntzberger," Logan said, shaking hands with Rory's editor, "You've got a great reporter here."

"You're not here to steal her are you?" he asked.

"I wish, but no," Logan said with a laugh.

"Logan and I are old friends," Rory said, putting her jacket on, "We went to Yale together and he's in town for a few days so we decided to have lunch."

"Have a good day," Logan said, shaking the man's hand again.

"Are you trying to cause trouble, Huntzberger?" Rory asked as they took the elevator downstairs and walked to his car.

"What?" he asked, a smirk forming.

"You know what," Rory said, "You could have just called or texted to let me know you were here."

"Yeah, but coming in was so much more fun," Logan said, opening her door for her.

"Thank you," she said, getting into her seat.

"So, where do you want to go, Ace?" Logan asked.

"There's a diner I like that's not too far," Rory said, "You ever been to Ollie's?"

"No, it's good?" he asked.

"It's no Luke's, but the burger is decent," Rory said.

* * *

"So, Ace, how did you sleep last night?" Logan asked after their waitress refilled Rory's coffee cup.

"Fine," Rory told him, taking a drink from her cup.

"Really, because that's your third cup and we haven't even gotten our food yet," Logan said.

"Okay, so maybe not so fine," Rory told him.

"Rory!" he said.

"Okay, maybe not at all," she said and he shook his head at her, "What?"

"You should have called me. I would have come over or just talked to you on the phone," he said.

"Why so you could stay up all night with me?" Rory asked, "No, I'm not doing that Logan."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you shouldn't have to worry about me," she said.

"I do though, Rory," he said, "Despite the fact that this is the first time we've seen each other since your graduation or that I'm with someone else, I still care about you."

"You do?" she asked.

"Of course I do. You were a big part of my life for a long time," he said, "I don't like seeing you like this. Overtired, chugging coffee to keep yourself awake because you're afraid to fall asleep. I know you said you're seeing that psychologist, but maybe you need to see her more."

"Maybe, I don't know," Rory said.

"It couldn't hurt to try. If you don't want to talk to me or Lorelai or Tristan, what other option is there?" he asked, "You need to talk to someone and find a way to start getting back to the Rory I remember."

"You say it like it's easy," she said, "I can't just bounce back to being the happy, bubbly kid I was at Yale."

"I know that and I don't expect you to just flip a switch and be Rory again," Logan said, "I just want you to work on getting there. And hiding out in a bar or drinking your weight in coffee is not going to get you there."

* * *

After finishing their lunch, Logan drove Rory back to the Post. While saying their goodbye's Logan insisted Rory call him up the next time she was in New York so she could meet Ashlee. And even though they both knew she wouldn't Rory promised Logan she would call him if she needed him.

"I'm serious, Ace. I don't care if it's three in the morning and you want to talk about nothing," Logan said, "Call me. I'll talk to you for as long as you need me to."

"I will. Thanks Logan, for everything," Rory said, giving him a hug while he kissed her cheek before going back inside to do some more work on her article before getting it turned in at the end of the week.

* * *

Over the next few days Rory managed to get a few hours of sleep in between her nightmares. She also paid a couple visits to her psychologist, talking a bit more about her experience and telling her about Logan's visit. It had been nice spending the day with him and going out to lunch. It was like old times of just the two of them hanging out. Having him around for those couple days proved to her that while she wasn't in love with him anymore, he was still one of her best friends.

"Gilmore, have a seat," her editor said when she came into his office.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. It was rare that he asked to speak with her about anything, let alone one of her articles.

"What is this?" he asked

"My article," Rory told him when he held the document in front of her.

"Your article," he said, "Are you sure about that because I've seen your portfolio and you wrote better than this your first year on the Chilton paper."

"So I'm a little off my game. It's my first article I've written since I came back," Rory said.

"True and because of that I expected some difference. Maybe the writing style or your voice that we can hear through your words," he said, "But it's like you didn't even care about what you were writing. There's no passion or feeling in this, not to mention the obvious lack of spell checking. What's going on Rory?"

"I'll fix it. I can do better," Rory said.

"I'm not asking you to fix it. I'm asking what's going on? Clearly, you weren't ready to get back to writing," he said, "You have vacation time, maybe you should take it. Go back home, find the Rory Gilmore voice and try writing again in a few weeks."

"Weeks? You want me to leave for a few weeks?" Rory asked.

"I think it will be good for you," he told her.

"Fine," Rory said, standing up, "I'll have my office cleaned out by the end of the day."

"Rory, I'm not saying you need to leave the paper," he said.

"No, well, clearly my writing is not up to yours or the papers standards and since firing me would look bad, I'll save you the trouble," she said, "I quit."

* * *

 **AN:** I know it's a lot shorter than my last chapter, but I wanted to get something out and I really wanted to end on that cliffhanger.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: "Sometimes I wish I could forget."

* * *

A week after Rory quit her job she had barely left her house. She only answered her phone if it was Lorelai calling so she wouldn't worry. She hadn't told her or anyone that she quit. She had her trust funds so money wasn't an issue, she just wasn't sure what she wanted to do anymore. She didn't want to go back to the paper or maybe even any paper. She still loved writing, but her editor had been right, that article wasn't her best. She put in very little effort. She knew what she had wanted to say, but her heart just wasn't in it.

Labor Day weekend, Lorelai had asked her about coming home, but Rory told her she wanted to stay and work. And even though she had been avoiding everybody else's phone calls and emails, Rory couldn't avoid the letter she found as she flipped her mail that weekend. No name or return address. The postmark caught her eye.

 _North Carolina,_ she thought. The only person she knew from North Carolina was Mia. She hadn't really spoken to her since her wedding. Lorelai called her from time to time, but she didn't imagine Lorelai would have called her and told her what had been going on so she had no idea who in North Carolina would be sending her mail.

 _Mary,_

 _Surprised? Me too. Never did I expect to be sending you a letter at all, let alone be sitting stateside on a beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean when I did it, but this is what it's come to since you've decided to completely avoid my calls. Anyone's actually, if I'm hearing correctly from Paris and Huntzberger. Though, Lorelai tells me you've been taking her calls so I at least know that you're okay._

 _Anyway, so yeah, I'm stateside now. I still have some time before my term is up in November, but my unit is back home so I get to finish out my term in North Carolina. And while I have to be here everyday for the most part, I'd really like to see you. I miss you. I miss your smile; the light in your eyes when you're reading a good book. I know this makes me seem desperate, but even if just for a few minutes so I can see for myself that you're doing okay._

 _Call me or write me back. I hope to talk to you soon, Mary._

 _Yours,_

 _Tristan_

* * *

Labor Day weekend Rory spent at home watching movie after movie while sampling dozens of items from the new Chinese restaurant that opened up down the street from her apartment. She kept her phone off the entire weekend, telling Lorelai she was busy working on a story and didn't want any distractions.

Tuesday morning she met with Doctor Rhodes. She hadn't told her yet about quitting her job.

"How have you been, Rory?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"Okay, I guess," Rory said.

"Care to elaborate that?" she asked.

"I quit my job," Rory told her.

"When?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"A couple weeks ago," Rory said.

"Can I ask why?" she asked.

"So they didn't have to fire me," Rory said, "My editor hated my first story and suggested I take some time off. I quit so they wouldn't have to deal with firing me. It wouldn't have exactly looked good firing the girl who just came back after being held captive overseas."

"What makes you think they wanted to let you go?" she asked, "Perhaps they just want you to take some time. Maybe get away from the city, do something that's just for you, have some fun."

"Fun. I wonder what that's like. It's been awhile since I've done anything fun," Rory said.

"Well, maybe now's the time to do that. You could go back home and visit your mother. Go somewhere new you've always wanted to go to," Doctor Rhodes said, "Or just get in your car and drive. See where you end up."

"It's not that easy," Rory said.

"Why not? You've quit your job. You have time. What's stopping you?" she asked.

"Just me, I guess," Rory said, "Money's not an issue. I have my trust fund from my great-grandmother so I don't even really have to work. I guess I could go somewhere. I don't know where though. I've never been big on spontaneity."

"It doesn't have to be completely spontaneous. You can plan where you're going, but maybe just don't plan what you're going to do when you get there," she said.

"Yeah, maybe," Rory said.

"How have your nightmares been Rory?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"Not bad. Not as frequent. I've still found that if I'm more tired than usual I sleep through the night without any so I've been trying to keep myself busy by cleaning or reading to keep myself up later and setting an early alarm so I don't sleep too long," Rory said.

"While I don't recommend it since you're clearly still not getting the amount of sleep you need, it's better than the drinking and the coffee," Doctor Rhodes said.

"I got a letter from Tristan," Rory told her a few minutes later, "He's home."

"I thought you said he wouldn't be back until November," Doctor Rhodes said.

"He wasn't supposed to be back yet, but his unit came back early," Rory said, "He has to stay on base until then, though so he's in North Carolina. He asked if he could see me. He said he has to stay there for the most part, but could get away for a few days."

"Are you going to see him?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"I don't know. I haven't decided yet," Rory said, "Part of me wants to. I didn't realized how much I missed him until I saw him again a few months ago."

"And the other part?" Doctor Rhodes asked.

"I don't want him to see how broken I still am," Rory said.

"You're not broken Rory," Doctor Rhodes said, "You're healing. That takes time. Tristan knows that."

"I know he does, but he said he wants to see me so he can see for himself that I'm doing okay and if I see him he's going to see that I'm not as okay as I've led him and everyone to believe," Rory said.

"The fact that you're admitting it proves you're more okay than even you thought," Doctor Rhodes said, "It's going to take time. There's not a magical moment or day where you going to suddenly be the woman you used to be."

"I know. I really wish there was," Rory said, "Sometimes I wish I could forget. I think it would be easier if I could just put it all out of my head and move on."

"And one day you will. You're never going to forget, Rory. I wish I could tell you, you would, but it's always going to be a part of you," Doctor Rhodes said, "But you choose how big a part. You get to decide how what happened to you affects you and how your story is told."

"I could write about it. I have a little bit. When I can't sleep at the images are filling my head, I write down what I think or what I feel; how I felt in those moments," Rory said.

"That's good, Rory. That's really good. Use your strength as a writer to help you heal," Doctor Rhodes said as the time went off, indicating the end of their session, "I'll see you next week?"

"Maybe not," Rory said, "I think I may be out of town."

"Good for you," Doctor Rhodes said.

* * *

Coming home from her appointment Rory tossed her mail on the table. She felt pretty good after this appointment and didn't want to ruin it by reading anything she didn't want to. She liked Doctor Rhodes' idea of just getting in her car and driving, but she had no idea where she should go. If she went north she'd probably end up in Stars Hollow or New York. It was still pretty warm even though it was September so she wanted to go somewhere she could spend some time outside and maybe even check out a beach.

Setting her purse on the coffee table as she sat down on her couch she knocked an envelope onto the floor. Looking at it when she picked up, she tossed it into her purse and ran to her room to pack. She knew exactly where to go.

* * *

 **AN:** Just a heads up, I won't be getting any writing done over the weekend so I may not have a new chapter for you next week. This weekend is Tree Hill Takes Chicago and since I live only forty miles from the city I am going. I've not met any of the One Tree Hill cast so I am very excited to meet the group that is coming, especially the wonderful Chad Michael Murray. He has played so many of my favorite characters: Lucas Scott of course, Austin Ames in A Cinderella Story, and of course, Tristan DuGrey! I'm very excited to meet him!


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: "These better be some damn good doughnuts if you dragged me all the way down to Wrightsville Beach to get them,"

* * *

Six hours after throwing her bags in the car, Rory found herself sitting on the beach watching the sun set over the Atlantic Ocean. Taking her phone out to get a picture of the beautiful sight before you, she contemplated making a call, but decided to keep her new location to herself for the time being. Choosing instead to send off a quick text message, attaching the image of the picturesque sunset.

"It's beautiful, kid, but where are you?" Lorelai asked when Rory answered her phone moments later.

"Wrightsville Beach," Rory told her.

"North Carolina?" Lorelai asked.

"Yep. North Carolina," Rory said.

"What are you doing there? I thought you were working," Lorelai said.

"I'm taking a little impromptu vacation," Rory said.

"Impromptu, yes. Little, doubtful," Lorelai said, "You don't just jump on a plane on a whim and fly to North Carolina."

"Actually, I drove," Rory told her.

"You drove to North Carolina, alone?" Lorelai asked, "Why?"

"I wanted to. I needed a vacation so I packed my bags and got in the car and just drove," Rory said.

"But, why North Carolina?" Lorelai asked, "You don't know anyone there except Mia and she lives in Charlotte."

"That's not entirely true," Rory told her.

"Well, who else? Tristan," Lorelai said, "He's back?"

"Yeah, he didn't tell you?" Rory asked.

"No. We've talked a couple of times in the past few weeks, but he never mentioned when he called that he was calling from somewhere more local," Lorelai said.

"Oh, well, I got a letter from him a few days ago. He's still active until November, but he's on base a couple hours away from here for the duration," Rory told her.

"So, his letter prompted this little spur of the moment trip," Lorelai said.

"Sort of. I hadn't decided when I read it that I would come, but after my session with Doctor Rhodes this morning I saw his letter on the coffee table and just reacted," Rory said.

"Did you even tell him you were coming?" Lorelai asked.

"No. I haven't even decided yet if I will tell him," Rory told her, "I just wanted to get away for awhile and coming to the beach seemed like a good idea. I rented a house for the week so I can either sit out on the porch or come out onto the beach and just read, write, relax, think."

"Well, kid, I don't really know what to say," Lorelai told her, "You sound happy, though."

"I am, Mom. For the first time in a while I feel really happy. Happier than I've felt in months," Rory told her.

"I'm glad for you sweets. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for on this little vacation of yours," Lorelai told her, "But, just remember to call me, anytime."

"I will. I love you, Mom," Rory said.

"I love you, too, kid," Lorelai said.

* * *

A few days after arriving Rory had built a routine. The house she was staying in on Columbia Street was a minute's walk to a doughnut shop that also had amazing coffee. She had taken a liking to the fruit loop covered doughnut they served so it became a daily stop. She spent her days exploring various beaches up and down the coast. She spent several hours both in Surf City and Topsail Beach. She had also checked out a lot of the surrounding area including spending a day at Airlie Gardens. Today she found herself in the city of Wilmington, sitting on a bench overlooking the Cape Fear River, people watching as she scribbled her various thoughts into the notebook she brought with her.

"Rory?" she heard, looking up from her notebook towards the unfamiliar voice, surprised that someone in this town recognized her, "You are. You're Rory Gilmore."

"That depends," she said "Who's asking?"

"Oh, sorry," the man said, holding out a hand to her, "Rob Adams, I'm…"

"You're Tristan's best friend," Rory said, remembering him now from her time in the hospital after being rescued, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Rob said, sitting down across the table from her, "I live here. Well, a couple hours from here, but I'm from Wilmington, originally. D.C. is nearly four hundred miles from here."

"A fact I am well aware of. It's quite the scenic drive," Rory told him, "But the fact you're from here doesn't explain why you're here right now."

"Weekend away. We do get free time now and then and since we're here and not in the middle of the desert, I like to come home and visit with old friends and family when I get the chance," Rob told her, "So what brings you all the way down here?"

"I needed a vacation," she said, "So I packed some things and hit the road. I rented a house down on Wrightsville Beach."

"Just like that? You just decided to come all the way down here on a moment's notice? You needed a vacation and chose here of all places?" Rob asked.

"It's very beautiful here," Rory told him.

"I know," he said, "Does Tristan know you're here?"

"Did he come down here with you?" she asked.

"I take it that's a 'no' then. You came here and didn't tell him, why?" he asked.

"I wasn't sure if he would be able to see me or if I even wanted to see him," Rory told him, "I admit the idea was on my mind when I decided to come here, but now that I'm here…"

"You're nervous," Rob said.

"Yeah. It's been awhile and I was a wreck then. It's been even longer since Tristan and I really knew each other," Rory said.

"So why not change that?" Rob asked, "Call him. Talk to him. See him. He wants to see you. He wanted to fly up and see you the minute we landed here, but he was afraid you would shut the door on him."

"I wouldn't have done that. I would have been surprised, but I would have let him in to at least give him a cup of coffee or something," Rory said.

"So why not see him while you're here? You can meet here or a coffee shop. Somewhere neutral where you'll feel more comfortable," Rob said, "You came this far, why not go all the way and spend some time with him?"

"Maybe," Rory said, "Maybe."

* * *

A week later after deciding to extend her stay, Rory found herself sitting on the porch of her rental home, holding a cup of coffee in her hand, but not drinking it as she waited.

"These better be some damn good doughnuts if you dragged me all the way down to Wrightsville Beach to get them," she heard as she began to twist a few strands of her hair around her fingertips upon hearing the voices as they carried from down the street.

"Trust me, these doughnuts are fantastic. They're well worth the wait."

"They better be or I'll...Mary?"

"Hi."

"Hi. There aren't any doughnuts, are there?" Tristan asked, turning to Rob.

"Well, maybe not just doughnuts," Rob told him, stepping back on the sidewalk as Tristan walked towards the porch, "I'll leave you to it and go get those doughnuts."

"Thanks, Rob," Rory told him, "So?"

"So…" Tristan began, "You're here. You're in North Carolina."

"Yep, looks that way," Rory told him, a smile forming on her face as he cautiously approached her, "Coffee?"

"Sure," he said, sitting down across from her as she poured him a cup from the pot she brought out with her and quickly taking a sip, "It's good."

"Thank you. I couldn't be sure how good the coffee here was so I brought some of Luke's special blend with me," Rory told him.

"Well, I'm honored you deem me worthy enough of the good coffee," Tristan told her, taking another drink before pausing to look her over.

"I'm fine, Tristan. You can stop checking for signs that I'm not," Rory told him, halting his glances.

"Sorry, but considering you haven't answered my phone calls for a month and I haven't seen you since, well…" Tristan began.

"I know. I'm sorry, I just…" Rory said.

"I get it, Rory, I do. I don't like it, but I get it. We all handle things in our own way and in our own time," he said.

"Yeah and being here, now. Well, this is me handling it, finally," Rory told him.

"Finally, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah, I wasn't really dealing with all of it before," she told him, "I talked to my Mom a bit and Doctor Rhodes, but mostly I just kept telling them and everyone else that I was okay."

"Even though you weren't," Tristan added.

"Even though I wasn't," she agreed, "I kept thinking that if I believed it enough or just ignored how I was really doing, I would eventually just be okay, for real."

"But, it didn't work," he said.

"No, it didn't work," Rory said.

"What about now?" he asked.

"Now. Well, now, I'm feeling good. Being here and spending time at the beach has been really good for me," Rory told him, "I've been writing."

"It is your job," Tristan said.

"Not anymore," Rory said.

"What?" he asked.

"I quit. About a month ago, actually," she told him.

"Lorelai never…" he began.

"She doesn't know. No one does, expect, well you, the paper of course, and Doctor Rhodes," Rory told him.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why did I quit or why doesn't anyone know?"

"Both."

"I didn't want my Mom to worry or come down because she thought I wasn't okay on my own."

"And the reason for quitting in the first place?"

"I don't know, really. I had just submitted my first piece since being back and my editor basically ripped it to shreds. I don't blame him though. It was crap, anyway. I put very little effort into it."

"How come?"

"I just wasn't feeling it. I was excited to write something again and I had all these ideas and I enjoyed doing the research for it, but when it came to writing the actual article, my heart just wasn't in it, I guess."

"That makes sense considering you hadn't written anything in months, but that's no reason to quit."

"I said I was quitting so they wouldn't have to fire me. That article was far from being up to the paper's standards."

"They wouldn't have fired you for that and you know it."

"Maybe not, or at least not right away."

"Not at all. I'm sure they didn't expect you to come out and write a Pulitzer Prize winning article your first time back.

"No, but they expected it to be good and it sucked."

"You'll get better, Rory. You didn't have to quit."

"I realize that now. I think I knew it then, but quitting just felt right," she told him, "Besides, I've been busy with other things."

"Like what?" Tristan asked.

"I've been reading again. It's been ages since I read some of my favorite books," Rory said, "And I've been doing some different writing."

"What are you writing?" he asked.

"A book," she told him.

"A book? What's it about?" he asked.

"Me, my life, what happened over there, what brought me to that place, my life since. That sort of thing," she said, "Writing it all down. Analyzing the details and sorting them into chapters seems to be helping."

"Really?" Tristan asked.

"The nightmares have lessened since I've been here," she told him, "I've slept all the way through the night more times than I've been woken by nightmares. That hasn't happened since I was in the hospital falling asleep with you next to me."

"That's wonderful, Mary. I'm so happy for you," Tristan told her, reaching his hand across the table to take her hand in his.

"Thank you," she said, interlacing their joined hands, "You want to take a walk with me?"

"Sure, Rob can come and find us when he's back with the doughnuts," Tristan said, standing up and coming to her side of the table, holding his hand out for her.

"Sounds good," Rory said, accepting his offered hand, interlacing their fingers again as they walked down the steps of her porch and headed towards the beach, "This is nice."

"What's nice?" he asked.

"Being here. With you. I like it," Rory told him, laying her head on his shoulder as they sat down on the beach when they arrived a few minutes later.

"Me, too, Mary," he told her, placing an arm around her and kissing the top of her head, "Me too."

* * *

 **AN:** Yeah! Rory and Tristan are finally in the same place again. It's temporary for the moment as he still has a little over a month of service, but for now they are both in North Carolina. Okay, so it's a little weird writing for a post finale world when we are now post revival, but I like the stories I have created for my post finale universe and I'm sticking to them. I did have thoughts for stories as I watched the revival and I may one day write a story taking the revival into account, but for now I'm enjoying my made up world. Happy reading!


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: "I missed you when you left. I missed you so much."

* * *

After finding Rory and Tristan together on the beach, Rob decided he would return to base early and leave them to spend the weekend getting to know each other again.

"So, what do you want to do this weekend?" Rory asked as they walked back towards her rental house after stopping for coffee at her new favorite place besides Luke's.

"Anything, everything. I get some free time here and there when I'm away, but I'm either alone or with the same guys I'm with everyday," Tristan told her.

"Well we could watch a movie or play a game," Rory suggested.

"I could teach you to surf," he told her.

"You surf?" Rory asked.

"Mary, I went to school down here for over two years," Tristan said, "I spent almost every weekend at the beach."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, I would come here whenever Rob went home to visit his family. He's from Wilmington, originally," Tristan said.

"Yeah, I knew that. I just didn't realize you had known each other that long," she said.

"We go way back. Rob was the first guy I met when I walked through those doors," Tristan said, "Only difference was, he actually wanted to be there. He had his heart set in joining the military after high school and his school didn't offer an ROTC program so his parents let him go to military school."

"Wow. I can't imagine anyone wanting to go there. You were pretty upset to be being sent there," Rory said, remembering that last day.

"I wasn't so much upset about going, but more what I was leaving behind," Tristan told her.

"Oh, yes, all the hoards of girls just dying to date you," Rory said.

"More like one," he said, stopping their walk and facing her, "And even though she hated me, I was going to miss her. I did miss her."

"She must be special," Rory said.

"Very," Tristan said, taking her hand in his, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand.

"Do you still miss her?" Rory asked.

"At this moment? No. I don't have to miss her when I have her within reach," he told her, lacing their fingers together as he pulled her closer to him.

"I never hated you," she said looking down at their entwined fingers before placing her other hand on his cheek, "I didn't want you to go. I never hated you," she repeated, crying as she did before throwing herself into his arms, "I missed you when you left. I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too Mary. Everyday," he said, holding her tight to him and kissing the top of her head as she cried.

* * *

Hours later, Tristan was sitting next to Rory's bed as he watched her sleep. He had got her to calm down enough to get her inside the house and onto the couch where she eventually cried herself to sleep. After carrying her into her room he sat next to her so he'd be close if she had a nightmare, but watching her the last couple of hours she seemed to be sleeping so peaceful, he was sure if anything she was dreaming good dreams instead of the nightmares she had been plagued with for months.

"Tris?" Rory asked, rolling over as her eyes fluttered open, seeing him sitting on the chair next to her bed, "How long was I out?"

"Couple hours," Tristan said.

"I'm sorry," Rory said.

"Don't be. You needed it," Tristan told her.

"I don't just mean the falling asleep," Rory said, "I meant all the crying. I don't even know where that came from."

"I'd say that was about four months worth of burying your feelings," Tristan said, "Sure you've spoken to your therapist and a bit to me and Lorelai, but you've never just let yourself feel what you're feeling. You've lived in this 'I'm fine' world for so long, it was bound to catch up with you."

"Maybe," Rory said, sitting up and moving to get out of the bed, her stomach growling, "I guess it's been awhile since we had those doughnuts."

"I guess so," Tristan said with a laugh, "How about you find us a movie. Dinner should be here soon."

"You ordered food?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, there's a nice Indian place not too far that delivers," Tristan said.

"How did you know I liked Indian food?" Rory asked, following him into the living room.

"I'm telepathic," he said.

"Try again," Rory said.

"I called Lorelai," he said, "Don't hate me, but this trip seemed like something you took on a whim and I didn't want Lorelai to worry. Though I found out when I talked to her that you did let her know."

"Well, I told her when I got here," Rory said, "I texted her a picture of the sunset on the beach when I first got here. I told her I was thinking about seeing you, but I hadn't decided if I would."

"Which is why she was surprised to hear from me," Tristan said, "But pleasantly surprised. We talked for a bit and when I mentioned we were probably just going to stay in she begrudgingly suggested Indian food."

"She's not a fan," Rory told him, "But she knows it's my favorite."

"Mine, too," Tristan said, getting up when he heard the doorbell, "I'll get it."

"I'll get plates and silverware," Rory said, going into the kitchen while Tristan went to get the food.

* * *

"This is really good," Rory said, taking a bite of her chicken vindaloo.

"I completely agree," Tristan said, "This is some of the best naan bread I've ever had."

"Yeah, the samosas are amazing, too," Rory said.

"So, not to bring down the mood all this great food has created," Tristan said.

"But…" Rory responded.

"But, I'm curious. You didn't wake up screaming or anything so I'm guessing you didn't have a nightmare," Tristan said.

"No, I didn't," Rory told him.

"How many nights or little naps like that have you gone without a nightmare?" he asked.

"Well, when I've actually slept, just a handful of times," Rory said, "Either brought on by alcohol or sheer exhaustion. I've been sleeping pretty good here, but even the peacefulness of the beach hasn't fully kept the nightmares away."

"But, nothing while I was there with you?" Tristan asked again.

"No, well, not nothing. I had a dream," Rory said, her face reddening as she looked away from him.

"Oh, I have to hear this," Tristan said.

"It wasn't a big deal. Just a silly dream," Rory said.

"A silly dream wouldn't have you blushing brighter than I remember ever seeing at Chilton," Tristan said, "What was it about?"

"You. Me. Us," Rory said.

"Us? What about us?" he asked.

"We were here, in this house," Rory said, "But we were older."

"Older?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, a lot older and we were sitting on the swing out front," Rory told him, smiling as she recalled her dream, "I had my head on your shoulder and you had your arm around me. And we were watching these kids running in the yard, playing. Everyone was so happy. It was amazing."

"Sounds like it. I wish I'd been able to see it for myself," Tristan said.

"Maybe you'll be lucky enough to dream it yourself one day," Rory told him.

"Yeah, maybe. It sounds like a beautiful dream," Tristan said, setting down his plate to take her hand in his.

"It was, but it's just a dream," she said, moving closer to him and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah, but it's my dream," he whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

* * *

 **AN:** Shorter than the last, but felt like a good place to stop this chapter.


	9. Chapter 8

**AN:** I'm back, I'm back, I'm back. Sorry it took so long. If you've read the latest update of my story _Getting There_ you can ignore this author's note. But to those who don't, my apologies. Between working in retail, having a December birthday, and the holiday's in general the month of December got away from me without me having the time I'd like to devote to writing a well thought out chapter with a decent length. So, enjoy the update and happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 8: "Rory Gilmore, did you go all the way to North Carolina to see a guy?"

* * *

"You promise you'll call?" Tristan asked as he and Rory stood together outside the base. They were able to spend several days together at the Wrightsville Beach house getting to know one another again, but now Tristan had to get back to duty and Rory was ready to get back home.

"I promise," Rory told him, laying her head on his chest while he wrapped his arms around her and rested his cheek against the top of her head, "I'm really going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you, too," Tristan said, pulling away from her slightly to kiss her forehead, "Just a few more weeks and I'll be yours for as long as you'll have me."

"Forever works for me," she said, hugging him close again, "Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds perfect," he said.

"DuGrey!" they heard Rob call from a few feet away, signalling him that it was time to get back to work.

"I guess I gotta let you go," Rory said, keeping a tight hold of Tristan as she turned her head to look towards Rob.

"Yeah, I guess so. Call me when you get back to D.C," he said.

"And when I get to Philly, I know," Rory said, "I promise not to dodge your calls anymore."

"Good. I'd hate to have to resort to drastic measures to make sure you're okay," Tristan said.

"I'll call you so often you'll get sick of me," Rory told him.

"I doubt that's possible, but thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she said, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek before giving him one last hug.

"Drive safe," he said, kissing her forehead once again, "Take care of yourself, Mary."

* * *

Hours later after stopping once for food and more coffee, Rory arrived back home in D.C. She had several messages on her answering machine from her coworkers since she had been ignoring their calls to her cellphone while she was in North Carolina. They were all concerned about her abrupt exit from the Post and wanted to make sure she was okay. Her editor had left a message as well, hoping for an explanation for her change in behavior and requested she call him when she got home from wherever she disappeared to as he had heard from her coworkers that they hadn't heard anything from her and it appeared she was no longer be at home. Deciding to call Tristan first to let him know of her arrival, Rory sat down on her couch and pressed the newly added speed dial.

"How many times did you stop for coffee?" Tristan asked when he answered his phone.

"Just once," Rory told him.

"Uh, huh, how many cups?" he asked.

"Two, but I got food, as well," she said, "I walked in the door about ten minutes ago and just got done listening to my messages when I decided I should call you first instead of answering them."

"You're very popular, I take it," he said.

"I think every person I've ever met that I gave my home number to has called me," Rory said.

"That's what happens when you go dark for two weeks," Tristan told her.

"I liked it, though," she said, "The sun, the beach, the house, spending the past few days just us talking and getting to know each other. I got used to having you around. I'm already missing it."

"Me, too, Mary," he told her.

"We should do it again," she said.

"What stay at that house or somewhere else on the beach?" Tristan asked.

"That house or somewhere, anywhere," Rory said, "I liked being off the grid like that, with you. It could be nice to go somewhere when your term is up, just us."

"Just us sounds good," he said, "Listen, I hate to cut this short, but…"

"You've got work to do," she said.

"Yeah," he said.

"That's fine. I've got a lot of calls to return, maybe a couple people to see before I go to Philly," Rory said, "I'll talk to you soon."

"Later, Mary," he said.

* * *

After hanging up with Tristan, Rory sent text messages to Paris and Logan. They had left messages for her as well after hearing from Lorelai that Rory was taking a vacation and asked her to get in touch with them when she got back. She informed them both she was okay and that she was back in D.C. for the moment, but had plans in place that would eventually take her up to New York so she would see them soon.

Once her texts were sent, Rory turned to her computer to get in touch with her newspaper colleagues. Even though she quit, her editor had still left her access to her work e-mail so deciding the easiest way to inform them all she was back and okay was to send a mass e-mail explaining where she had been and would contact them all again soon so they could hang out.

"Okay, time for the big one," Rory said, picking up her phone to place a call to her editor.

"Rory, it's good to hear from you. How are you?" he asked, answering the call after his secretary had put it through.

"I'm really good, sir. A lot better than I was the last time you saw me," Rory told him.

"That's great," he told her.

"I'm...I'm really sir for leaving the way I did," she said, "I could give you an excuse, but it would really be just that, an excuse. That article was terrible, I know that. I knew it then. I just didn't want to admit that I wasn't ready. I wanted so bad to write a good article, but my heart just wasn't in it."

"Have you been able to find your voice again on this vacation you took?"

"Maybe. I've been writing, but it's not an article or anything."

"Oh."

"I've actually been writing a book."

"A book?"

"Yeah. I wrote a bit before I left, but while I was away the words just kept coming. I'm writing about what happened to me and how I felt and the others who were with me. I'd like to reach out to their families and get some input on their lives so I can tell their stories, too."

"Sounds like you know exactly what you're doing, Rory," he said, "Is there any chance you'd want to come back to the paper?"

"Right now, no. I loved my time with the _Post_ and I appreciate the incredible opportunity you gave me when you hired me, but a newspaper is just not the place for me write now," she told him.

"Okay. I understand, but know the option is always here if you want to return," he told her.

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

"And when this book of yours gets published, I'd love to read it."

"I will be sure to send you a copy."

"Take care, Rory."

"I will. Bye."

* * *

Responding to the text messages that came through while she was on the phone, Rory began gathering a few more items she would need. She wasn't sure yet how long she would be gone this time, but she packed a few books and several more outfits before taking everything to the car and locking back up.

"Hey, Rory. It's been awhile," Ella said when Rory walked into the coffee shop around the corner from her apartment.

Ella was a woman in her sixties with no children. She had been widowed for forty years after losing husband in Desert Storm and deciding not to remarry. Rory met Ella the day she moved into her apartment. Following her mother's advice to seek out the best coffee and takeout around, Rory made Ella's her first stop and after trying the coffee and getting to know the Ella herself, it became Rory's favorite place in the city.

"Hi, Ella. Yeah. I went down to North Carolina for a couple weeks," Rory told her, giving her a hug.

"North Carolina, wow. What took you down there?" she asked, pouring Rory a cup of coffee and grabbing her a muffin as she down at the counter.

"I wanted to get away for awhile and some time at the beach sounded good," Rory told her, "Plus an old friend lives down there so I was able to see him, too."

"Him?" Ella questioned, "Rory Gilmore, did you go all the way to North Carolina to see a guy?"

"Not exactly. The fact I could see him while I was there was a contributing factor, but I really did want to get away for awhile," Rory said.

"Well, good for you. You deserve some time to yourself. You work hard," Ella said, "He's a good one, this guy?"

"The best," Rory told her, with a smile.

"He makes you happy?" Ella asked.

"Extremely," Rory said, looking down as her cheeks reddened.

"Good. You deserve it, sweet girl," Ella said, laying her hand on top of Rory's, giving it a squeeze.

"Thanks, Ella," Rory said, sipping her coffee before taking a piece off the muffin Ella brought her.

"Are you back for while now?" Ella asked.

"No, actually, I'm on my way out of town again," Rory told her, "but I wanted to stop in and see you first."

"You just missed my coffee," Ella said.

"Oh, Ella, you know I love you as much as I love your coffee," Rory said.

"So where are you off to now, dear?" Ella asked.

"Philadelphia," Rory told her.

"Phila...you're going to see Jess?" Ella asked, "Whatever for? Is everything alright?"

"Oh, yeah. He's good. Everything's okay," Rory said, "I've been writing a book though and I want to show it to him; see if it has any potential for publishing."

"That's wonderful," she said.

"Yeah, and then I thought I might go on up to Connecticut and see my Mom," Rory said, a sad smile on her face, "I haven't seen or talked to her much since she went back home."

"I'm sure she understands, honey," Ella said, refilling Rory's cup of coffee, "You needed time by yourself to get your mind around everything.

"Yeah, but I'm feeling a lot better now," Rory said.

"The time at the beach did you good, then," Ella said.

"Wonder," Rory told her, eating the last bite of her muffin before looking at the time on her phone, "I should get going if I want to get to Philly before it's late."

"Alright. You have a safe trip, dear," Ella said, pouring a cup of coffee into a togo cup and throwing a few doughnuts into a bag, "Take these and be sure and come back to see me soon."

"I will. Thanks, Ella. I'll see you later," Rory said, giving her a hug and quickly setting a few bills on the counter to pay for the coffee and treats, leaving before Ella had a chance to object, "Love you."

"I love you, too, dear," Ella said.

* * *

A few hours later Rory was pulling into a parking spot near Jess' apartment that overlooked Philadelphia's Washington Square Park. Taking her bags out of the trunk she used her spare key to let herself in so she didn't have to wait for Jess to buzz her in before taking the elevator up to his two bedroom apartment.

"Rory? What? Come in," Jess said when he answered the knock he heard, taking a bag from her as she walked into his apartment after he let her in, "What are you doing here?"

"Just felt like a visit," Rory told him.

"A visit? You brought two suitcases," he said.

"Okay, so maybe a little more than visit," Rory said, "I was hoping I could stay here for a bit before I head up to see Mom and everyone."

"How long is a bit, Rory? Is everything alright?" Jess asked.

"Everything is fine. I'm fine," Rory said.

"Rory!" he warned.

"I know, I've said that to everyone before, but I really mean it this time," she said, "I'm good. I'm happy."

"Oh, hold on a second," Jess said as he heard his phone ringing from the next room, "Rory? Yeah, she's right here. It's for you."

"Hello?" Rory asked.

"Mary," Tristan said, letting out a breath.

"Oh, Tris, I'm so, so sorry," Rory said.

"Are you alright?" he asked, "I tried calling your phone and you didn't answer."

"Yes. I'm sorry, Tris. I didn't mean to ignore your call," Rory said, taking her phone out of her purse, "It's dead. I must have forgot to put it in the charger when I left D.C. I'm sorry."

"I know you are. It's fine," Tristan said, "I'm just glad you gave me Jess' number before you left in case of emergencies. So you got there alright?"

"Yeah. I took a little longer in D.C. than I planned since I stopped at Ella's, so I just got here, but yeah, I got here okay," she told him.

"Good. Alright, well I leave you to talk to Jess," he said, "I'll talk to you later, Mary."

"Bye, Tris," Rory said, ending the call and handing Jess back his phone.

"Tristan?" Jess asked, "Is he the guy who…"

"Yeah, that's him," Rory said.

"I didn't realize you were talking to him," Jess said, "What's going on with that?"

"It's a really long story," Rory said.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: "It's almost too hard to read it's so real,

* * *

"This is really good, Rory," Jess said, setting down the pages she gave him of her book.

"Really?" Rory asked, taking another sip from her glass of wine as she tugged her legs underneath herself on the couch in Jess' living room, "It's just a start. I have a ton of more notes. Those are my only solid chapters, but you really think they're good?"

"These three chapters are amazing Rory," Jess said, "They're so raw and real. It's, uh…"

"What? What is it, Jess?" Rory asked.

"It's almost too hard to read it's so real," he said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"You read about this stuff in the paper all the time. You hear on the news that person or that person was captured, beaten, and tortured," Jess said, "It's a totally different experience reading about someone you care about going through that."

"Jess," Rory said, "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about this being hard for you to read. You can have one of the other guys or I can even go somewhere else with this if it's going to be too much for you."

"No. Rory you came to me with this because you trust me," he said, "You trust me not only to tell your story, but the story of the nine other people that were in that room with you. We'll do this right. I'll help you tell this story the way it needs to be told. I won't let you down."

"Man that was a lot of words," Rory said.

"Well, I'm a published author, I picked up a few more," Jess told her, leaning back against the couch to place his arm around Rory.

"Thanks, Jess," Rory said, laying her head on his shoulder, letting her eyes close.

"You're welcome," he said, kissing her forehead.

Waiting for Rory to be completely asleep, Jess picked the pages back up to read her words again, this time more thoroughly as he looked for any edits that needed to be made. Once he was sure she wouldn't wake, Jess carried her into his bedroom, laying her on the bed before returning to the living room to sleep on the couch. His apartment had two bedrooms, but the second was without a bed, being filled entirely with shelf after shelf of books.

* * *

"Are you making me breakfast?" Rory asked, coming into the kitchen the following morning, sitting at the table after pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"I'm housing a Gilmore, you gotta keep those girls fed," Jess said, placing a plate full of pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs in front of her.

"This looks great, Jess. Thank you," Rory said, pouring syrup onto her pancakes.

"So, what's the plan for the the day?" Jess asked.

"Well, I was hoping we could go over what I have written so far a bit more thoroughly, see what edits need to be made," Rory said, "And I'd like to go over what I have outlined for the rest of the book so far."

"We can do that. I already started going through the chapters a bit. I read through them all again last night and made a few notes," he told her, "Nothing big, just a few small things I think would flow better if you changed the wording."

"Sounds good. I also need to reach out to the families of the other men and women that were there," she said, "I want to learn more about them and be sure they're okay with me writing about everything."

"Makes sense. Do you have a way to contact them?" he asked.

"Yeah, a couple of the families were at the airport when I first came home and I've traded e-mails with some them as well," she said, "One of the men grew up here."

"In Philly?" Jess asked.

"Yeah. He was living in Paris, working for a paper there, but he's originally from here and though his parents live in Florida now, he still has some friends and a few cousins who live here," Rory said, "I was thinking I'd check out the neighborhood he grew up in and maybe talk to a few people. I'd like to write who each person was as a whole, not just what happened in their last moments."

"I think that's an excellent idea, Rory," Jess said, "I'm sure the families would love that."

"I hope so, but I'm not doing all that today. I haven't talked to anyone yet so I'd like to do that first," she said, "I don't want to just go over to a stranger's house asking questions about their dead cousin."

"Yeah, that would be weird," he said, "So do you want to get started with the chapters right away or did you want to just hang out for a bit first?"

"I have plans this afternoon so let's dive right it," Rory said.

"Plans? With who?" Jess asked.

"Ally. I've missed her so I called her after my shower this morning. We're getting lunch and going shopping," Rory said, getting up to take her plate to the sink, "She was pretty mad you hadn't told her I was here."

"I wasn't sure if you'd want anybody to know," he said, "I talked to her while I was making breakfast and she didn't mention it."

"Well, yeah, because you didn't tell her I was in town or that I was staying with you," she said, "She's your girlfriend Jess, she deserves to know when another woman is staying over at your apartment."

"I guess that's true, but it's not like she lives here Rory," he said, "It's my home. I can have anyone I want stay here."

"About that. Why the hell not?" Rory asked, "You've been together for two years, Jess. Two years and there's barely any sign that she's ever spent any time here."

"How would you know?" Jess asked.

"I'm a girl and I've lived with a boyfriend before," she said, "You don't have any of her clothes in your closet and everything in the bathroom belongs to you. What's the deal? I know you love her."

"I do. I do love her. Allyson is amazing. She's my best friend," Jess said.

"And you haven't asked her to move in with you because…" Rory said.

"I guess I'm scared," he said, "I've never been good at this relationship stuff. You know that better than anyone."

"True, go one," she said.

"I suppose I figured that as long as we kept to our separate houses it won't be messy if things don't work out," he said, "And it's easier to run if I have my own place to run to."

"Jess, you're not going to run on Allyson," Rory told him, sitting down on the coffee table across from him as he sat down on the couch, "Sure that was your go to instinct before, but you're not that guy anymore. And you haven't been that guy in a long time. Relationships are hard. They can be tricky and messy, but when it's the right person, the mess is worth it."

"Allyson's the right person," he said.

"And is she worth the mess? Is she worth completely putting yourself out there? Is she worth everything?" Rory asked.

"More. She's worth everything and more," Jess said.

"Good. She makes you happy, Jess. I saw that a long time ago when you first introduced her to me," she said, "You deserve to have that happiness everyday."

"Yeah. Everyday could be cool," he said, "Thanks, Ror. Now, should we get to work?"

"Yes, let's do it," she said, "And if you'd like I can ask Ally to come back with me after we go shopping."

"That would be great. I'm not quite ready to talk to her about moving in. I'm beginning to really like the idea, but I want more time to wrap my head around it. The three of us could have dinner together, though," Jess said, "She's really missed talking to you."

"I know. She said that when I called her," Rory said, "I'm done with that now, though. I'm done ignoring everyone's phone calls. It's time I got back to being Rory."

* * *

"So where to next?" Rory asked as she and Jess' girlfriend, Allyson walked through Philadelphia Mills, snacking on a pretzel.

"Victoria's Secret?" Ally asked.

"Well, I'm single and no way am I helping you pick out things to wear for Jess," Rory said, "He's basically family, so if you're really wanting to go, I'll wait outside or go down the hall to Sam Ash."

"Are you sure you don't want to have something just in case?" Ally asked.

"Why? I don't need anything. I have no one to impress with sexy lingerie, Ally," Rory said.

"Not now, but you said Tristan will be out in a few weeks," she said, "Don't you want to be prepared for that?"

"We're not dating," Rory said, "And besides, I don't know what his plans are once his tour is done. He doesn't really have a place to call home. He's said that he usually just stays with Rob in between tours."

"That was before you were back in his life," Ally said, "He may want to stay with you or get a place near you at least."

"I don't know. We haven't talked about it. I don't know even know how long it will be before he goes back," Rory said, "I'm not sure I could handle it if he wanted to live me with and he's only there for a few months just to be shipped out again."

"Do you want him to live with you?" Ally asked.

"I don't know. I'd like him to at least be near by. I'd like the option to see him whenever I wanted," Rory told her, "I think it would be weird if we lived together."

"Why?" Ally asked.

"It would just be awkward. I like him, Ally. I liked him before, but just didn't want to admit it to myself," Rory told her, "What if we live together and it screws everything up?"

"I don't think it will, but honey, that's something you'll have to talk to Tristan about," Ally said, "You liked being alone with him in North Carolina, right?"

"It was great. It was so relaxing and carefree staying in that house, just the two of us," Rory said, "It didn't feel like two people with a complicated history, it felt like two people who've known each other forever just having a good time."

"That's because he makes you happy," Ally said, "I've never met the guy myself, but from what Lorelai has said about him based on her conversations with him and what you've told me about him today, I think he's it for you Rory. Now you just have to decide if you're ready to take that step."

"Maybe a new nightgown wouldn't hurt," Rory said, linking arms with Ally and walking into the store to begin her search of something that would 'wow' Tristan the next time she saw him.

* * *

 **AN:** So, Jess has a girlfriend of his own. No worries on a triangle between him, Rory, and Tristan. This is very much a Trory, but it's not one that's going to have Rory and Tristan immediately jump into a relationship with each other, but they will get together.


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: "You're a very lovable person, Rory Gilmore."

* * *

"You know you don't have to leave, right?" Jess asked as he and Ally stood next to Rory's car outside of his apartment where Rory was putting her last bag into her trunk.

"I've been here a week, Jess," Rory told him, closing the trunk and approaching him and Ally.

"And no one is kicking you out," he told her, "You can stay as long as you need."

"If you're sick of his face you can always come stay at my place, you know," Ally told her, after giving her a hug.

"I appreciate it. You guys have been great," Rory said, "But it's time I go see some other people."

"Are you telling Lorelai you're coming?" Jess asked.

"No. She'd want to to exactly when I'm coming so she can plan every minute of my visit," Rory told him, "I'm not sure how long I'll be in New York so I'm just going to surprise her."

"Okay, well, drive safe and let us know when you get to Paris' place," Jess said, giving her a hug and kissing the top of her head.

"I will," Rory said, opening the door of her car to get in, "I'll e-mail you when I have some new chapters done so you can check them over."

"Sounds good," Jess told her, holding her door open as she got in the car, "Take care of yourself, Gilmore."

"Bye, Jess. See ya Ally," Rory said, clicking her seat belt in place as Jess closed her door.

"Talk to you soon, Rory," Ally said, stepping back from the car, placing her arm around Jess as he followed suit, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her close to him.

"You're a good friend to her, you know," Jess said as they watching Rory's car disappear in the distance, "I think that girl time you had was good for her."

"You're a pretty good friend yourself," Ally said, laying her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad she's comfortable being around you and felt safe staying with you after everything."

"I know. It surprised me, too. I'm glad she's still comfortable being around all of us," Jess said, "What she has written so far is only a fraction of what her experience was like, I'm sure. I don't know if I'd be as okay as she is, no matter how much time passed."

"Was it really as bad we've imagined?" Ally asked.

"Not entirely. It was definitely bad," he said, "She was beat pretty bad and they were all kept either tied up or locked up without food and water most of the time, but thankfully no one touched her inappropriately."

"Oh, thank God," Ally said, "Wait did you ask or did she write saying she wasn't?"

"Both. She's opening the book with a disclaimer, warning anyone reading what to expect. She wrote that there will be many moments of violence and physical assault," Jess said, "When I questioned what exactly she meant, she made sure to quickly tell me that despite how bad it sounds and the details she plans to go into on the physical assault, neither she or anyone else was sexually assaulted in anyway."

"That's a relief," Ally said, "I wish none of it had happened, but I couldn't imagine how she would get past that."

"She's Rory Gilmore. She's strong. She can get through anything," Jess said, "And if she can't, she has a whole host of people to help pick her back up when she falls."

"You're a really great guy, you know that?" Ally said, hugging him close to her to kiss him, "I love you, Jess Mariano."

"I love you, Allyson Davis," Jess said, deepening their kiss, tangling his fingers in her hair before pulling away, "Move in with me."

"What? Are you serious?" Ally asked.

"Very. I want us to live together," Jess said.

"This is pretty sudden, Jess. We've never even talked about this," she said, "Have you given this idea any thought?"

"Yes, I have," he said, taking a key out of his pocket to give to her, "I should have given you one of these a long time ago. I've never been one to really let people in. I'm not good with feelings and I have a tendency to run when things get messy."

"But," she said.

"But, I don't want to run from you, from us. I've thought about this for awhile, but just kept fearing the mess if things didn't work out," he told her, "Then, I got some advice from a really good friend. She said that relationships are going to be messy and if the other person is special enough, than the mess is worth it."

"And I'm worth the mess?" Ally asked.

"More. You're worth the risk of me screwing things up as long as I have you in my life for as long as you'll let me be," Jess said, "You're everything to me, Ally. Move in with me?"

"Yes," she said, after a moment, closing her eyes to allow the tears to escape as she took the key from his hands, "I would love to live with you, Jess."

* * *

A couple hours later, Rory was in New York in front of Paris and Doyle's apartment. She had left her car in a long term parking lot nearby and had taken a cab to get her to their place.

"Rory!" Paris exclaimed when Rory walked through the door of their two-story brownstone near Columbia University. After weighing her many acceptance options to various law schools and medical schools, Paris decided Columbia was the best option for her, plus she knew living in New York would give Doyle many viable options for newspaper jobs.

"Paris, it's good to see you," Rory said, dropping her bags to the floor so she could hug her friend properly.

"I've missed you, Rory Gilmore," Paris said.

"I've missed you, too, Paris," Rory said, "Thanks so much for letting me stay here."

"Anytime, you know that," Paris said, "We're always happy to have you."

"I know. Thanks, Paris," Rory said.

"Alright, so enough the mushy stuff. Let's get you settled into your room and go over the plan for the evening," Paris said.

"Okay. I just need to make a call first," Rory said, taking her phone out of her purse and sitting down on the couch as Paris took her bags to the upstairs guestroom.

"Are you needing an escape plan already?" Tristan asked when he answered the phone. She had texted Jess when she was in the cab, letting him know she was in the city. She had received an excited text from Ally during her drive, thanking her for the advice she gave Jess that led to him asking her to move it. Knowing they would probably be celebrating their cohabitation for quite some time, she decided a text would be safest for now.

"Not, yet, but I'll let you know," Rory told him, "I only just walked in the door."

"You got your car parked okay?" he asked.

"Yep. My car is in good hands until I need it again for my drive to Stars Hollow," Rory told him.

"That's good. And you still haven't decided how long you're staying in New York?" he asked.

"No. Probably no more than a few days, a week, tops," she told him, "It's all going to depend on what kind of time everyone has in their schedule."

"I'm sure everyone you want to see while you're in New York will do whatever it takes to make time for you," Tristan told her.

"I know they will, but I don't want them to. I don't want anyone changing their plans because I've finally decided to come out of hiding," Rory said.

"Rory, the people in your life will do anything for you because they love you," he said, pausing a second, waiting to see if she would ask if that meant him too, "And you probably don't even have to ask. The moment anyone hears you're around they will make time to see you. You're a very lovable person, Rory Gilmore."

"Thanks, Tris," she said, deciding not to comment for the moment on his unofficial declaration of love. He had all but admitted that he loved her when they were kids in high school and she had come to realize that she herself had feelings for him, both then and now, but wasn't ready to admit them without knowing what the future could hold for them, "I better let you go. Paris just came back downstairs and we're going to go over plans for while I'm here."

"Good luck," he told her.

"Thanks. I'll talk to you soon," she told him.

* * *

"These egg rolls are delicious," Rory said, grabbing a third one from the container as she and Paris sat on the floor in her living room surrounded by Chinese takeout containers, "I've missed the good takeout you can get in the city."

"There is pretty decent food in D.C," Paris said, "We had our share of it when we were there before."

"True, but nothing beats that good New York takeout," Rory said, "And the hot dog carts. I have to get me one from one of those tomorrow."

"You're going to get a hot dog from a street cart?" Paris asked.

"Yes, they are delicious. You haven't tried one?" Rory asked.

"I prefer to get my food from somewhere that has a kitchen to store and prepare it in," Paris said.

"Suit yourself. More for me then," Rory said.

"You're going to be okay by yourself tomorrow?" Paris asked, "I have a major exam tomorrow or else I'd stay with you."

"I'll be fine, Paris. I've been to New York before. I know my way around," Rory told her.

"I know, but that was before," Paris said.

"And I'm fine now Paris, mostly anyway. I have my moments still, but mostly I'm good," Rory told her, "I'm happy."

"With Tristan?" Paris asked.

"What?" Rory asked.

"I heard part of your phone call. You called Tristan?" Paris asked, "I know he was the one who found you, but you're talking to him, like really talking to him?"

"I am. I wasn't at first. It was nice having him around the first couple weeks. A familiar face, even Tristan's was a nice change," Rory said, "When I first came home I avoided him, but the past couple of weeks we've really been talking."

"So that impromptu vacation of yours. Was that to see him?" she asked.

"Unofficially. I went to North Carolina with the idea in mind that I might see him and after a week I finally did," Rory said, "We spent a couple of days together in the house I rented talking and getting to know each other again."

"You and Tristan DuGrey, alone in a house and all you did was talk?" Paris asked.

"Yes, just talking," Rory said.

"No sex?" Paris questioned.

"No sex. We just talked. We may have held hands a bit and we shared a bed because it kept my nightmares away, but the most that happened was him kissing me on the cheek," Rory told her.

"Wow, Tristan certainly has grown up from the guy who would make out against a locker with anything that moved," Paris said.

"He's definitely a lot different from the guy I knew at Chilton," Rory said.

"That's good. He's always been a good guy, he just didn't know how to show it," Paris said, "He really liked you though. Do you think he still does?"

"Maybe. It seems like it, but I've never really been good at judging those kind of signs," Rory told her.

"Do you want him to like you?" Paris asked.

"Yeah, maybe. I'm not sure what his plans are or what a relationship or anything between us would be like," Rory said, "I like him, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Are you worried a relationship wouldn't last if he went back overseas?" Paris said.

"Somewhat. I think I'm more scared of losing him though," Rory told her, "I spent so much time in high school pretending I hated him. Now that he's in my life again, I'm scared to lose that. I don't want anything to happen to him, but I don't want him to give up something he loves because I'm scared."

"Well, isn't his tour over in a few weeks?" Paris asked, "You're not going to lose him. He'll be home in just over a month."

"But what about when he goes back?" Rory asked.

"I don't know, Rory," Paris told her, "Has he said he's going back?"

"No, he only told me he was done in November. I thought that just meant for the time being," Rory said, "Like he's going to be home for a few months before having to go back again. He never said."

"I guess that's something you'll have to ask him next time you talk to him or when you see him next," Paris said.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rory said.

* * *

"Hello, I was wondering if Logan Huntzberger was available?" Rory asked of the receptionist at HPG the following day. After Paris left for class and Doyle left for work, she decided to take a walk and explore their neighborhood while enjoying a cup of good New York coffee. It was now nearing lunchtime and decided to surprise Logan.

"He doesn't have any meetings until this afternoon. Who should I say is here to see him?" the receptionist asked.

"A girl scout," Rory told her, smiling as she recalled a memory from their early days.

"He'll be down in just a minute," the receptionist told her, hanging up her phone a moment later after calling up to Logan's office.

"Ace?" Logan called to her as soon as he got off the elevator. Her back was to him as she admired the art on the lobby walls. Hearing his voice she turned with a smile, "It's good to see you, especially looking so happy."

"It's good to see you, too, Logan," she said, as he gave her a hug.

"How have you been, Ace?" he asked.

"Better since you last saw me," she told him.

"That's good to hear," he said, "So do you want a tour?"

"Sure, if you're not too busy," Rory said.

"For you? Never," he told her, holding his arm out to her for to link hers with his as he led her to the elevator.

An hour later they were heading out of the building to go to a nearby deli Logan told her she would love. Just as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor, Rory was nearly run over by the honey-blonde haired woman trying to enter.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I...Logan," the woman said.

"Ashlee," Logan said, taking her into his arms to kiss her, "What are you doing here?"

"I had a patient cancel so I wanted to see if you wanted to get lunch, but it seems you already have plans," Ashlee said, turning to the girl she nearly knocked over that she could tell obviously knew Logan by how close she had been standing to him in the elevator, "I'm Logan's girlfriend, Ashlee and you are?"

"Rory Gilmore," Rory said, holding out her hand for Ashlee.

"Oh my God. I'm so sorry," Ashlee said, ignoring Rory's hand to give her a hug, "I didn't recognize you. It's so good to meet you."

"Not your fault Ash. I put away all my pictures of Rory. You only ever saw the one the night we found out she'd gone missing," Logan said.

"An apology is unnecessary," Rory told her, "It's nice to meet you, too. Logan's told me so many great things about you."

"You, too," Ashlee said, "Well, I'll leave you guys to catch up and Logan I'll see you at my place later."

"Do you want to join us?" Rory asked.

"I don't want to intrude," Ashlee said, "I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."

"Don't be silly, Ash, you should come," Logan told her.

"Yeah, I'd really like to get to know you," Rory said, "If you don't mind?"

"I'd like that," Ashlee said, "Okay, let's go."

* * *

"Seems that vacation you took served you well," Logan said as the three of them sat down at the deli for lunch.

"It definitely did," Rory told him, "I didn't realize until I was there, but I needed the break."

"Where did you go?" Ashlee asked.

"I rented a house in Wrightsville Beach," Rory said.

"North Carolina," Logan said, "Isn't that where Tristan is based out of?"

"Yeah, in fact he's there, now," Rory told him, "He came back a few weeks ago."

"Did you see him while you were there?" Logan asked.

"I did," Rory said.

"And?" Logan asked.

"And we talked," Rory said.

"You talked? That's it?" Logan asked.

"I got the third degree from Paris, already," Rory told him, "Are you really going to get into this, too?"

"No, I'm just curious. I told you before, I think he'll be good for you," Logan told her.

"Do you like this guy, Rory?" Ashlee asked.

"I do," Rory told her.

"Is he cute?" Ashlee asked.

"Ashlee?" Logan questioned.

"What? You're not asking the important questions," Ashlee said, "So, is he ?"

"Very," Rory told her, taking her phone from her purse to show Ashlee his picture.

"Damn. That's a fine looking man," Ashlee said.

"Ashlee!" Logan warned, as the two girls giggled and continued to look at Rory's pictures of Tristan.

"He's a handsome one, Rory," Ashlee said.

"I don't disagree," Rory told her.

"Are we through drooling over pictures of this guy?" Logan asked, "I'd like to eat my lunch while I can still keep it down."

"Sorry. We'll be good now," Rory told him, putting her phone away, smiling at the photo on her lockscreen of Tristan at the beach before zipping up her purse.

"So, how long are you staying?" Logan asked as they were finishing up their meal.

"A few days, I think. Then I'm going to go see my Mom. I'll spend some time in Stars Hollow, maybe go up to Boston for a day to see my Dad," Rory told him.

"What about work? You've been gone for what a month now?" Logan asked.

"Longer, actually," Rory told him, "I quit."

"You quit?" he asked, "When?"

"A few days after you left," Rory told him, "I turned in my first story and it was terrible. My heart wasn't in it and when my editor suggested I take some time, I don't know, I just didn't want to be there anymore. So, I quit."

"Wow, well, if you're looking for a job…" Logan began.

"I'm not," Rory interrupted him, "I'm good with what I'm doing right now."

"And that is?" Logan asked.

"Being here. Actually seeing and talking to people," Rory said, "And I'm writing a book."

"A book?" Ashlee asked, "Fiction or are you writing about your experience."

"I'm writing about my experience," Rory told her.

"That's good. That could be a really healthy way to go," Ashlee said, "I imagine your therapist was supportive of you writing a book?"

"Very. She's actually the one who convinced me to take the vacation," Rory said, "She suggested I just get in my car and see where I end up."

"Solid advice," Ashlee said, "I've given the same myself a few times. Sometimes you just need a break and hitting the road to destinations unknown could be very freeing."

"You've done it?" Rory asked.

"I spent the summer before college just driving from place to place, town to town. I worked my ass off in high school to get a scholarship since I knew my parents could never afford to pay for college," Ashlee said, "After I graduated I was ready for a break so the day after the diploma was in my hand, I packed a bag and just drove."

"My Mom and I backpacked through Europe after I graduated," Rory told her.

"I did that the summer before I started graduate school," Ashlee told her.

"Am I the only one that doesn't see the appeal of aimless traveling?" Logan asked, "I mean, backpacking? Why not just stay in a hotel?"

"This from the guy that jumped off a cliff in Costa Rica as a last hurrah before graduating college," Rory said.

"You jumped off a cliff?" Ashlee asked.

"And barely got his parachute open as he bounced his way down," Rory told her.

"Were you crazy?" Ashlee asked.

"No, just a little drunk, it was stupid," Logan said.

"How is this the first time I'm hearing this?" Ashlee asked.

"I just didn't see the need to relive all my stupid college stunts," he told her.

"Well, it's a good thing I'm here then," Rory said, "Wait until I tell you about the stunt he pulled with Colin and Finn to declare his love for me."

"This sounds like an interesting story," Ashlee said.

"Very. What's better is what I did to get him back," Rory said, smiling at the memory.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're here, Rory," Ashlee said, sitting back in her chair to listen to Rory tell her all the stories of Logan's crazy college days he had been keeping to himself.

* * *

 **AN:** Longest chapter I've written for this story, but I wanted to get Rory seeing Paris and Logan in the same chapter. I know the show had Paris choosing Harvard Medical, but I decided to change it to Columbia for my story to have her based in New York. I wanted Rory to visit her friends before going home to Stars Hollow to spend time with Lorelai and having her drive through Connecticut to go visit Paris at Harvard without seeing Lorelai first didn't make sense to me so I changed her school to Columbia.


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: "Nonsense. Of course I do. You're here. I'm going to spend every minute I can with you,"

* * *

After a few days in New York spending time with Paris and Doyle, getting to know Ashlee a little better with some shopping, and speaking with a few months of the other journalists families for insight and inspiration, Rory was ready to go back to her hometown. With everything that happened in the past several months, plus her busy work schedule before she went overseas, Rory hadn't been back to Stars Hollow in well over a year.

"Hey Lucy, I'm home," Rory called as she walked in the front door of her childhood home. She purposely came earlier in the morning when she knew Luke would already be at the diner and her Mom would still be home, getting ready to go to the inn.

"Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed, running down the stairs with just one shoe on, the other in her hand as she pulled her daughter into a big hug, "Oh I missed you, kid."

"I missed you too, Mom," Rory said, not yet letting go of Lorelai, "So much."

"What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming? How long are you staying?" Lorelai asked, the questions pouring out as she took a seat on the couch to finish putting her shoes on.

"I wanted to see you, I wanted it to be a surprise, and as long as you'll have me," Rory said, answering Lorelai's questions.

"As long as I'll have you? I'd keep you here forever if you'd let me," Lorelai said, "I hate that you live so far away."

"Mom," Rory said.

"I know. You like D.C. It's where your job is," Lorelai said, "I just hate that you're all alone there, without anyone to look after you."

"I'm a big girl Mom, I can look after myself," Rory said as Lorelai picked up the house phone to make a call, "Who are you calling?"

"Sookie. I need to tell her and Michel that I'm not coming in today," Lorelai said.

"You don't have to do that," Rory said.

"Nonsense. Of course I do. You're here. I'm going to spend every minute I can with you," Lorelai told her.

* * *

After a phone call to Luke informing him of Rory's arrival and requesting a breakfast delivery, the two of them delved into several long awaited conversations.

"So you just quit? Just like that?" Lorelai asked as they started in on their breakfast. Rory had already told her about her time in North Carolina with Tristan and her visits with Jess and Paris. They also talked a bit about her seeing Logan again when she was in New York as well.

"Yeah. I wasn't planning on it. I knew I wasn't really feeling like myself and my writing wasn't anywhere near what it should have been," Rory said, "But in that moment when my editor suggested I take a break it just felt right. I needed a break, a long one."

"What's your plan now? I know you don't need the money with your trust funds just sitting there," Lorelai said, "But I know you, you need a focus. You need something to do. What's your plan as far as work goes?"

"I'm writing a book," Rory told her.

"A book? When did you start writing a book? What's it about?" Lorelai asked.

"I started writing a couple of months ago. When I couldn't sleep or thoughts just came to mind, I would write," Rory told her, "I've been writing about me, my life, everything that happened to me and the others."

"So, is it going to be a novel or…" Lorelai asked.

"More like a collection of short stories, I think," Rory said, "A section of pages telling the story of each man and woman I was in that place with."

"Sort of like a _Chicken Soup for the Soul_ book," Lorelai said.

"In a way. It will probably be styled like those. I've been talking to some friends and family of some of them, getting insights to their lives. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to write everything myself from what they've told me or turn it into a collaboration and some of the people I've met write their own little something for it."

"Do you have a lot written so far?" Lorelai asked.

"Three chapters that have already been thoroughly scrutinized and notes planned out for a bit more," Rory told her.

"Thoroughly scrutinized?" Lorelai questioned, "Does that mean you've let someone else read them?"

"Well, I did make that stop in Philadelphia," Rory reminded her.

"Ah, so Jess has read and picked apart your writing," Lorelai said.

"Not picked apart, just polished," Rory said, "He read through them and then together we went over them making any changes we felt it needed."

"So, he's going to be editing the whole book then?" Lorelai asked.

"That's the idea," Rory said.

"Will you need to relocate to Philly for him to do that?" Lorelai asked.

"No, I'm going to e-mail him chapters as I write them and we'll talk and stuff to work on it," Rory said, "I'll probably go there sometime to work on it in person, though."

"If you don't need to be in Philly to work on the book, then you can move back home, right?" Lorelai asked.

"I guess, but I was planning on staying where I am," Rory said.

"Why? You're not working at the paper and you can write anywhere," Lorelai said.

"It's home. It's not that I don't miss you and everyone here," Rory told her, "But, this is the first time I've been to Stars Hollow in over a year. I love you and I loved growing up here, but it just doesn't feel like home anymore. I need to be on my own and I can't do that here."

"You're sure? There's nothing I can say or do to change your mind?" Lorelai asked.

"No. I want to stay in D.C.," Rory told her.

"Okay, well, you're still welcome here anytime you want. For as long as you want," Lorelai told her, "Your room is always going to be yours."

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said.

* * *

After spending her first day back in Stars Hollow with Lorelai eating all her old favorites from Luke's and Al's Pancake World, and watching one movie after the other, Rory decided to venture out into the town on her second day, her first stop was to Lane's house.

"Rory!" Lane exclaimed when she opened the door, "I had heard you were in town, but nobody was able to confirm a sighting."

"What am I, Bigfoot now?" Rory asked, hugging her best friend, "It's good to see you Lane. I've missed you."

"Me, too," Lane said, ushering her into the house, "Come in, sit down and I'll get you a cup of coffee."

"Thank you," Rory said when Lane handed her a cup as she sat down next to her, "Where are the boys? I was hoping to see them. I can't believe they're three now."

"Zach took them to the park this morning," Lane said, "We the possibility of you being in town, Zach and I figured you might show up today and we didn't know if you'd be up for two screaming toddlers."

"You're probably right. Though I would like to see them and Zach and everyone, too," Rory said, "I've missed everyone."

"And we've missed you," Lane said, "You need to come back and visit more often."

"I'm definitely going to start doing that," Rory told her

"Great, now fill me in. I want to hear all about Tristan DuGrey," Lane said.

* * *

When Friday came a few days later Rory found herself in Hartford with Lorelai outside her grandparents house. She was sure her grandmother would be upset with her for not coming to see her sooner, but she had wanted to surprise her grandparents and asked Lorelai not to say anything, but just to tell them to expect two for dinner instead of just her.

"You ready, kid?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah. It's been forever since I've been to a Friday Night Dinner," Rory said, "I'm actually looking forward to it."

"Mom, you'll never guess who I found outside your door," Lorelai said, walking into the living room ahead of Rory after the maid let them in.

"Who on Earth would be outside our door?" Emily asked, "I thought Luke was coming with you."

"Well, no. I said 'we' I just didn't specify who the other half of the 'we' was," Lorelai said.

"Hey Grandma. Hey Grandpa," Rory said, walking into the living room.

"Rory! Oh, it's so good to see you. Why didn't you tell us you were in town?" Richard said, getting up from his seat to hug his granddaughter while Emily stood next to the couch stunned.

"It's good to see you too, Grandpa," Rory said, "I'm sorry to just show up, but I wanted to surprise you. Grandma?"

"Emily, are you alright?" Richard asked.

"Oh, oh, yes. Sorry, I," Emily began, her voice breaking, "We missed you Rory."

"I missed you, too, Grandma," Rory said, walking to her grandmother to give her a hug.

"You look good, dear. How are you doing?" Emily asked.

"I'm good, Grandma. Really good," Rory told her as they sat down on the couch have their drinks before dinner.

Throughout dinner, Rory filled her grandparents in on a bit of what she had been doing for past few months. They were not too pleased when she told them she had quit her job, but Richard found her idea of writing a book to be an admirable one. They were pleased to see her light up when she talked about her trip to North Carolina and spending time with Tristan. She left out that he had stayed with her at the house she rented.

"Do you think this friendship you have with the DuGrey boy will continue once his tour is finished?" Emily asked.

"I hope so," Rory said, a smile on her face at the thought of spending time with Tristan whenever she wanted.

"More than friendship?" Emily asked.

"Mom!" Lorelai warned.

"What? It's a valid question," Emily said, "They knew each other before. They've been talking and spending a bit of time together the past few months. It's only naturally for them to develop feelings for one another. We already know he cares a lot about her."

"He does and I care a lot about him," Rory said.

"Enough to want a relationship with him?" Lorelai asked, wanting to know herself now.

"Maybe. We haven't talked about it, but I'd like to have a relationship with him. I just don't know what his plans are yet," Rory said, the room becoming quiet for a moment, her cellphone ringing breaking the silence, "I'm sorry. It's Tristan. He's not able to call too often so I need to take this."

"Of course. You can take it in the study if you'd like," Richard said.

"Thanks. Hey, how are you? I've missed you the past couple of days," Rory said, her eyes sparkling, a smile forming on her face as she answered the call.

"She's in love with that boy," Emily said, watching her granddaughters face as she continued her call with Tristan while walking into Richard's study.

"Yeah. I'm not sure she realizes it yet, though," Lorelai said, "But, I am sure that the feeling is mutual."

* * *

While Lorelai and her parents continued their dinner and Emily began planning Rory's wedding in her head, Rory sat on the couch in her grandfather's study talking to Tristan.

"So, what's it like being back home?" he asked.

"Weird. I love Stars Hollow, but it doesn't really feel like home anymore," Rory told him.

"Are you missing D.C?" Tristan asked.

"Maybe. I love my place there and the freedom of being on my own," Rory said.

"But, it doesn't feel like home either?" Tristan questioned.

"I don't know. I told Mom I was going back because it was home, but I don't know," Rory said, "I guess I'm not sure where home is anymore."

"Well, you know, home doesn't have to be a specific place," Tristan said, "Think about what made Stars Hollow home before. What did you love about it? What do you miss when you're not there? When you know that, think about it in terms of D.C. Are there things about D.C. that you love and miss when you're not there?"

"I don't know. D.C. is great. It's been my home for awhile now. It was the first time I lived on my own in my own apartment," Rory said, "I'm not ready to let that go."

"You can live on your own in Stars Hollow, too. Or you can live in Hartford, New York. You can live wherever you want, Rory," Tristan told her, "You just need to figure what is going to make a place home for you."

"I think I have a lot to think about," Rory said after pausing for a minute to process what he said, "I already know that right now, Stars Hollow doesn't feel like home."

"Then go back to D.C. and see if it feels like home when you get there," Tristan said, "If not, figure out where home is and go there."

"I miss you," Rory said.

"I miss you, too, Mary," he told her, "It won't be too much longer now. Just a few more weeks."

"That's a few weeks too long," Rory said.

"I know," he said, "Well, you need to get back to your dinner and I have to get to bed. Tell everyone 'hello' for me."

"I will," she said.

"I'll talk to you soon," Tristan said.

"Bye, Tris," Rory said.

"Bye, Mary," he said.

"I love you," Rory whispered into her phone after they ended their call, "My home is with you."


	13. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: "I'm yours for the next fifty-five hours."

* * *

"Ugh, it's six o'clock in the morning," Rory grumbled to herself as she got up from the couch, where she had fallen asleep after her phone call with Lorelai, to answer the knock on her door, "I only just got back to sleep."

She had been back in Washington for just over a week. Lorelai tried to convince her to stay longer, but after two weeks of the noise and excitement of Stars Hollow, Rory was actually beginning to wish for the peace and quiet her apartment offered that she had feared for the past several months. She also missed her friends from the paper and was anxious to get more work done on her book and needed to be in Washington so she could speak with more families. Lorelai had hoped Rory would stay until her birthday, but since she hadn't, Lorelai called her at four in the morning to retell the story of Rory's birth.

"It is way too damn early, so this better be…" Rory began as she opened the door, pausing when she saw who was on the other side, "Tristan!"

"Happy birthday, Mary," was all he could get out before she launched herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around him as he held her up and carried her back into her apartment, "I take it you're happy to see me?"

"Beyond happy," she said, keeping a tight hold on him as he lowered her legs to the ground, "What are you doing here? How long are you staying?"

"What am I doing here?" Tristan asked, taking her hand in his as he pulled her to the couch to sit down, "You didn't think I'd miss my Mary's birthday, did you?"

"Well, I'd hoped not, but I didn't want to ask and I wasn't sure if you would be able to come or be able to see me if I came down to visit," Rory told him, "And you didn't answer my other question, how long can you stay?"

"Not long," he said.

"How long is not long?" Rory asked.

"I have to be back by Sunday evening," he told her.

"Sunday?" Rory asked, "That's too soon."

"I know. That's why I came so early today," Tristan said, "We have all day today, tomorrow, and Sunday morning. I'm yours for the next fifty-five hours."

* * *

After she got dressed, Tristan took Rory out for breakfast. He did a bit of research on the plane ride and decided to take her to Wicked Waffle where she immediately selected the tiramisu waffle.

"Mmm, this is delicious," Rory said, taking another bite of her crispy waffle and the custard and cocoa powder it was topped with, "Are you sure you don't want to try it?"

"No, thanks, I'm good. I'm not big on sweets for breakfast," Tristan said, taking a bite of his sandwich. He had chosen one of their waffle sandwich, deciding on the one with bacon, eggs, and cheese, "This is good, if you want to try it."

"Not bad," Rory said, taking a bite of his offered sandwich, "I never would have thought of having waffle as the bread of a breakfast sandwich, but that's pretty good. However, I like this tiramisu one better. I may need to see if Sookie can make something like this the next time I'm in Stars Hollow."

"When do you think you'll go back?" Tristan asked.

"I'll probably go back for the holidays. I was working last year so it will be nice to be able to go and be with everyone," Rory told him, "I'll probably come back after Thanksgiving though and go back again for Christmas and New Year's."

"I'm sure Lorelai will enjoy having you back home again," he said, finishing his sandwich as pushing his plate away from him a bit, "So, what do you want to do for your birthday weekend?"

"I don't know. I was in Europe for my birthday last year and there was debate the day before my birthday the year before so I was in Tennessee," Rory said, "It's been awhile since I really celebrated."

"Well, we're changing that today. Anywhere you want to go, anything you want to do, you tell me and we'll do it," Tristan said, "This weekend is all about you."

"Thank you. Can we start with a bookstore?" Rory asked.

"You wouldn't be my Mary if books weren't your first priority," Tristan said.

"Coffee is my first priority, but I'm sure there will be a Starbucks or something close to whatever bookstore we go to first," Rory said.

* * *

Half an hour after finishing their breakfast, Rory and Tristan had arrived in Dupont Circle, their first stop was Starbucks to get Rory a cup of coffee before going to their first bookstore, Second Story Books. After two hours at Second Story Books they moved on to Kramerbooks & Afterwords Cafe.

"A bookstore and a cafe, this place is awesome," Rory said, walking in and taking in the smell of the food from the cafe and old books.

"I figured this would be the perfect spot to go to second," Tristan said, "By time you're done looking and buying several bags full, you'll be ready for lunch."

"Good plan," Rory said, taking his hand and leading him towards the first shelf she wanted to look at.

Another two hours later, Rory's trunk was getting full and their belly's were beginning to feel empty.

"I'm ready for lunch, how about you?" Rory asked as her stomach growled when they placed the last bag of books in the trunk of her car.

"Definitely, I'm starved," Tristan said.

"Let's go," Rory said, pulling him along with her as they went back into the bookstore to go to the cafe.

"So, what else do you want to do today?" Tristan asked after they were seated at a table.

"We should probably get all the books home first, but then I'd like to just walk a bit," Rory said.

"Walk around? Where?" Tristan asked.

"Anywhere, everywhere," Rory said, "I'd actually like to do some of the touristy stuff, the museums and monuments, the sculpture garden, the whole National Mall. I've never really visited any of it apart from that summer I spent here in high school with Paris."

"You realize you've lived here for nearly two years, right," Tristan said.

"And I've barely been here," Rory reminded him, "I may have a Washington, D.C. address, but until these past few months, the longest length of time I'd spent here was maybe two weeks."

"Okay, so after lunch and all day tomorrow, we'll be tourists," Tristan said, "We'll visit as many places as we can, taking in all the sights our nation's capitol has to offer."

"Great. Now, what to get for lunch," Rory said, looking down at the menu in her hand.

"I'm thinking the Kramers burger," Tristan said.

"Too many vegetables," Rory said, "I'm going to go with the bacon mushroom burger."

"Do you want to share a piece of red velvet cake after our burgers?" Tristan asked.

"Share?" Rory asked.

"Yeah, I'll eat a few bites and leave you the rest," Tristan said, "That kind of sharing work for you?"

"I may be willing to let you eat more than a few bites, but yes. That sounds perfect," Rory said.

* * *

After lunch, Rory and Tristan went to the National Mall. They started at the Lincoln Memorial, reading through both The Gettysburg Address and the speech from President Lincoln's second inauguration as well as pointing out the spelling error in the second speech to each other.

"It's so beautiful out here," Rory said as they walked along the reflecting pool before making their way to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, "Are you okay to go here? We don't have to."

"Yeah. It's definitely sad and harder since I've been on the other side of this. There isn't anyone specific on this wall that I have any form of connection to, but I know what it was like for their friends who came home, their families," Tristan said as they stood in front of a section of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Rory running her fingers across the lists of names.

"So many people. It's so sad," Rory said.

"Yeah, but this is how we honor their sacrifice. Having their names here, people see them everyday and know that they died fighting for their country," Tristan said, "It's like what you're doing with your book. In addition to telling your story and what happened in those few weeks, you're also telling the story of the one's who gave their lives. You're honoring their memory, their sacrifice. It's a beautiful thing."

"Thank you," Rory said as she continued to read some of the names.

After leaving the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they walked through Constitution Gardens before going to the other side of the Tidal Basin to see the Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Thomas Jefferson Memorials.

"Ooh, I want to go on the carousel," Rory said as she and Tristan continued their walk through the National Mall, now going through the sculpture garden.

"The carousel?" Tristan asked.

"Yes, please. Can we?" she asked.

"Sure. We'll go on the carousel." he said.

"Yeah!" Rory said, taking his hand, dragging him towards the ride.

After a several rides on the carousel, Rory choosing a different horse to ride each time, the sun was beginning to set. Having one sculpture in mind that he wanted to see, Tristan led Rory towards the National Museum of American History.

"Tris, it's getting late. We don't have time to go into a museum," Rory said.

"I know that. We're not going in the museum. We're just going to see the sculpture out front," he told her.

"Sculpture?" Rory asked, "What sculpture is here?"

"This is the Infinity Sculpture," he told her, stopping in front of it.

"It's beautiful," Rory said.

"I've seen better," Tristan told her with a smirk and a wink.

"Tris!" she said.

"This seemed like the perfect spot to give you your birthday present," he said, pulling a box out of his pocket.

"You didn't need to get me anything, you coming here was more than enough," Rory told him.

"I wanted to," he said, handing the box to her.

"Tristan! This is gorgeous," Rory said, running her fingers along the white gold and diamond infinity necklace inside the box, "Will you help me put it on?"

"Of course," Tristan said, taking the necklace out of the box while she turned around so he could put it around her neck, "You know the infinity symbol, like a circle has no end, it's one continuous piece. It's a sign of forever."

"Forever?" Rory asked, turning around to face him once he had the clasp in place.

"Forever. I love you, Rory Gilmore. I know that may sound crazy and you may not be ready for any kind of relationship and it's still going to be another month before we could even really be together, but I love you. I've loved you since the moment I kissed you when we were sixteen," he said, "And regardless of how you feel, I just needed you to know that no matter what, whether you want to be with me or tell me I'm crazy and to get lost; I want you to be able to look at this necklace and know that I'll always be there for you. I love you, Mary."

With the words getting caught in her throat as she wiped away the tears that were falling, Rory did the only thing she could think to do and launched herself into his arms like she did when he showed up at her apartment that morning. The only difference, this time she threaded her fingers through his hair as she crashed her lips to his.

"I love you, too," she whispered when he pulled away from her to catch his breath.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," she said, giving him a big smile before he attached his lips to hers once again.

* * *

Saturday morning Tristan woke Rory up early so they could take in the sunrise as they walked through Rock Creek Park. They enjoyed being able to walk hand in hand through the trails, stopping to share a kiss every now and then.

"Hey, Tris, can I ask you something?" Rory said as they walked back to the car when they were tired of walking.

"Anything," he told her.

"Are you okay with taking things slow? I mean we slept together in my bed last night, but we did that in North Carolina," Rory said, "Are you cool with not doing anything right away?"

"If you're asking if I want to have sex with you, then my answer is yes, of course. You're an incredibly beautiful woman and I love you. I'd love nothing more than to be able to show you how much," he said, "But, if I have to wait until you're ready, than I'll wait as long as I have to."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"Infinity, remember," he told her, "I'd wait forever if I had to. You're worth it."

"You're amazing, you know that," Rory told him, reaching up on her toes to kiss him.

"You're pretty special yourself," Tristan said before deepening their kiss.

After Rock Creek Park they went for lunch and then to the National Zoo.

"Aww, look how cute the pandas are," Rory said.

"Adorable," Tristan said, laughing at her enthusiasm.

"Can we go to the kids farm next?" Rory asked.

"You realize you're twenty-six, right?" he asked.

"So, that doesn't mean I don't have interest in petting a donkey or a goat," Rory told him.

"Fine, we'll go to the kids exhibit so you can pet some animals," he said.

* * *

"I don't want you to go back tomorrow," Rory said. They were on the couch in her living room Saturday night after coming back from dinner. She was laying across his chest as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"I know. I don't want to go back either, but I have to," Tristan said, leaning down to kiss her forehead, "It will only be a few more weeks."

"And then what?" Rory asked, looking up at him.

"Then I'm done," he said, "I'm all yours."

"Like done, done?" she asked, "Like completely done? No going back? Or will I have you for a few months and then you leave again?"

"Done, done," he told her, "My term is up and I decided awhile ago not to reenlist."

"Because of me?" Rory asked.

"You're part of it, but I actually thought about it a year ago or so, I think," he said, "Having you back in my life just helped to seal my decision."

"I don't want you to give up something you love because of me," she told him.

"I'm not. I'm choosing something I love more," he said, kissing her lips when she looked up at him before laying her head back on his chest.

"So when you're done, where are you going to go?" she asked.

"I thought we talked about taking a trip somewhere together," he said, "Do you still want to do that?"

"Yeah, if you want to. I don't know where we could go, but it would be nice to go somewhere warm maybe before going to Stars Hollow for Thanksgiving," Rory said, "But what about after that? Where do you call home?"

"Well, currently my home is the base," Tristan said, "But, other than that, I'm hoping, if you'll have me, you'll allow my home to be wherever you are."

"I'd like that," Rory told him, sitting up and moving so she was sitting in her lap, "I thought about what you said when we talked a few weeks ago when I said Stars Hollow didn't feel like home."

"And I told you to see if you felt at home here when you came back," he said.

"Yeah," she said.

"And do you?" he said.

"I didn't until yesterday," she told him, "My home is with you, Tristan. Where I live doesn't matter. As long as I have you, I'm home."


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: "That's exactly where I am when I'm with you. I love you,"

* * *

The morning Tristan left, Rory accompanied him to the airport so she could say goodbye. After a long time in each other's arms, sharing promises to call each other as often as possible over the next few weeks, it was time for Tristan to leave. Sharing another a hug and a kiss goodbye, they promised to see each other soon, Rory telling him she would be back here to pick him when he got in.

"This is amazing, Rory," her former editor told her as he finished reading a chapter of her book, "Though I wish you had found it with us, I'm glad to see you've found your voice again."

"Thank you," Rory said. She respected his opinion and wanted his feedback on her writing so she asked him to meet with her a couple weeks after Tristan went back to North Carolina, "But there is something I need your help with."

"Oh, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"With as much as I love what I'm writing and have no plans to reveal anything sensitive, I want to be sure it will be okay to publish," Rory said, "I was hoping you could share this with a couple of your military contacts to be sure everything I've written so far is okay."

Everything she had written so far and planned to write was basically just her feelings and what she remembered from everyone else during their time as captives, mixed with stories of their lives. But, she still wanted to be sure it would pass government and military approval. She didn't want to write anything that would reveal anything she wasn't supposed to and wanted to be sure she hadn't.

"I don't see anything amiss with what I've read so far, but I'll set it up if you want to be sure," he told her.

"I appreciate that, thanks," Rory said, "I want to be able to tell this story for the families of those who didn't come home and would hate to have to change anything."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. You haven't revealed anything. You didn't go into any detail about the location you were held, your captors and you didn't name any of your rescuers so if need be, their identity is kept secret," he said, "You did good, Gilmore."

* * *

During the last couple of weeks before Tristan's return, when she wasn't writing or talking with Tristan on the phone, Rory was using her free time to ready her apartment to become theirs. She made space for his things in her closet and dressers as well as clearing some space in the guestroom for the items his grandparents were going to send over that he had kept stored there. They had talked about it during the past few weeks, but had not yet decided if Washington, D.C. would stay their home. They knew they wanted to be together, to live together, to not spend anymore time apart than they already had, they just were not a hundred percent sure where they wanted to spend that time.

"Tristan!" Rory yelled as she ran through Dulles Airport when she saw him walking towards her. He had kept his uniform on, drawing them the attention of the other waiting passengers and families when she reached him and he pulled her into his arms, spinning her around.

"I missed you, Mary. It feels good to be home," Tristan said, setting her down on her feet to kiss her.

"Home," Rory said, running her hands along his chest.

"That's exactly where I am when I'm with you. I love you," Tristan told her.

"I love you, too," she said, laying a hand on his cheek as she kissed him, "Let's get home."

"Yeah, the sooner we get back to your apartment, the sooner we can leave for our trip," Tristan said.

"Our apartment," Rory reminded him.

"Right, our apartment," he said.

* * *

"Welcome home," Rory said as they walked into the apartment and he saw the banner she had made and hung up in the living room.

"You didn't have to do this," Tristan said, touching the banner hanging above the couch covered in little hearts with streamers hanging down from it.

"I wanted to," she told him.

"Well, thank you," he said, wrapping an arm around her and kissing the side of her head, "Do you mind if I get a shower and change? I went straight to the airport the moment we were released and I'd like to get out of my uniform."

"No problem. I'll get some food ordered, then we can either just relax or start sorting through your stuff," Rory said.

"The things my grandparents sent got here okay?" Tristan asked.

"Yep, a couple of days ago," Rory told him, "I put all the boxes in the guest room until you sort through what's what and get it all put away. If you're going to be putting it all away that is. No point in unpacking everything if we're going to end up moving."

"I should probably unpack it all. All that stuff has been in boxes in storage for years. It's a lot of clothes and little things from my room at my parents house," Tristan said, "I need to go through it and see if I want to keep it all or if any of the clothes still fit."

"Any chance we might find your Chilton uniform in one of those boxes?" Rory asked, running her hands along his chest, fingering the buttons of his uniform, "You do look good in one."

"You like me in uniform, huh?" Tristan asked.

"Well, I hope we find it in one of the boxes then," Tristan said, kissing her cheek, running his nose along the side of her face before whispering in her ear, "And I'm really hoping you still have yours around."

"Not here, but I'm sure it's somewhere at Mom's house," Rory told him, "We'll have to look for it when we go for Thanksgiving."

"Sounds like a plan," he said, giving her another kiss before walking towards the bedroom, "I'll just be a few minutes."

* * *

After eating most of the Chinese food Rory ordered, they went through Tristan's boxes. He found that a lot of his clothes no longer fit as he had bulked up a bit since high school, but a few of his favorite shirts that he wore a lot had enough wear in them they still fit. He unpacked his suitcases along with the items from his boxes that still fit into the space Rory made for him in her closet and dresser. He also set out the few family photos that used to sit in his room in a few places throughout the house.

"What's this?" Rory asked, pulling a framed photo of her out of the bottom of a box. It was a picture of her from Chilton. She was sitting on the bench that sat outside the building where she often sat before and after school while waiting for her bus to study. At the bottom of the frame with the picture was a concert ticket, "P.J. Harvey. You didn't go?"

"No. I tried. I couldn't. I went to the theater and got outside the door, ready to hand them my ticket, but I couldn't go in," he told her.

"By yourself?" Rory asked.

"I didn't want to go with anyone but you," Tristan said.

"You saved the ticket, why?" Rory asked.

"As a reminder, I guess. Had I approached you differently about the concert and my feelings for you, things could have been different," he told her, "I kept that picture on my night stand. I'd look at it every morning when I got up and every night before I fell asleep, hoping that you'd either notice I had feelings for you or I'd get the courage to stop hiding behind my 'King of Chilton' persona and tell you how I felt."

"I feel like we've wasted so much time and it's my fault," Rory said, looking down at the photo as her tears fell, "If I had just...You gave me so many signs and I missed them all."

"Hey, it's not your fault," Tristan said, cupping her chin with his hand, bringing her face up to look at him as he wiped her tears away with his thumb, "I was a jerk. I was used to girls falling all over me and when you didn't I had no idea how to act."

"Did you take this picture?" Rory asked, continuing to look at the framed photo in her hand.

"Yeah," he said.

"When?" she asked.

"A few days after our kiss," Tristan told her, "When I first took it, I would look at it and picture that moment in my mind. At least up until you cried and ran out anyway. I would imagine the kiss being longer and instead of leaving that room in tears, you'd leave as my girlfriend."

"I dreamed about that kiss when I was overseas," Rory said.

"You mean when…" Tristan began.

"Yeah. I dreamed about a lot of things. I dreamed of what my life would be, if I would have still ended up in that room if I had made different choices in my life," Rory told him, "Taking a chance on you being one of them."

"And? What did you imagine that to be like?" Tristan asked.

"A roller-coaster of emotions. I imagine if we had gotten together at Chilton it would have been great at the start, but I don't think I would have been able to handle the pressure of dating the 'King of Chilton' or dealing with the hate from the other girls," Rory said, "And I probably would have felt pressured to go faster than I would like."

"I would have never pushed you Rory and I won't push you now, just for the record," Tristan told her.

"Even if you didn't push, just the idea and knowledge of our differences in experiences would have probably been enough to push me into it," Rory said, "I would hope it wouldn't, that I would have been strong enough to say stand my ground, but I'm not sure I would have been."

"I think you would have. You did a pretty good job of turning me down. You could have handled yourself well if we tried being together," he said, "But, you're right, it probably wouldn't have been easy. As much as I wanted it, a relationship probably wouldn't have lasted. You deserved so much better than who I was; an idiot kid who needed to grow up."

"Maybe. Okay, enough with the thoughts of what could have been. We're here now, together. That's not going to change," Rory said, wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning up on her toes to kiss him, "I love you."

"I love you, too." Tristan said.

* * *

The next morning they began to pack up the items they would need for their two week vacation. They made a list of items they needed to buy, mainly some more clothes for Tristan and Rory wanted a new bathing suit. Three days after Tristan arrived in Washington, they were on a plane together headed to Atlantis Paradise Island in The Bahamas.


	15. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: "Okay? You're freaking gorgeous,"

* * *

After four hours on a plane, Rory and Tristan were walking through the airport in Nassau, having just landed. Once they had retrieved their luggage, Tristan led Rory to a cab outside the airport to take them to Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.

"Oh, wow!" Rory said as the cab pulled up to the hotel, "This is even more beautiful in person."

"Thank you," Tristan said to their cab driver, shaking his hand after he removed their bags from the trunk and handed them off to a member of the hotel staff, "You like it, huh?"

"It's gorgeous. Every time I've seen it in movies I would dream of coming here," Rory said, "It's even better than I imagined."

"I'm glad you're happy," Tristan said, placing arm around her waist and kissing her cheek.

"I'm always happy with you," Rory said, leaning up to kiss his lips, "Let's get checked in. I'm dying to see our room."

Once checked in Rory and Tristan were led to their room in The Cove. Tristan had booked them into of the Sapphire Suites after reading them being referred to as Atlantis' sexiest suites. He knew he had made the right choice when Rory gasped and her jaw dropped the moment they walked into the room and she saw the floor to ceiling windows that offered the most beautiful view of the ocean Rory had ever seen.

"Oh, Tris. This is amazing," Rory said, walking to the window to look out, "I can't believe we get to look at this view for the next two weeks. Can we go down to the pool as soon as we unpack?"

"We can do whatever you want," he told her.

"Yay! I love you. You're the best," Rory said, kissing him before going off to their room to unpack her suitcase and find her bathing suit.

* * *

"Tris, can you get my back for me?" Rory asked, removing her cover-up as they took up spots on a couple of lounge chairs at The Cove Pool. It had taken a bit of convincing from Lorelai as well as some help from her friends in D.C. to narrow down her decision, but Rory was at the pool wearing the first of three bikini's she had picked out for their vacation.

Despite the fact they were now living together and had spent a lot of time together when Rory went to North Carolina, Rory had so far not let Tristan see her scars. In fact, other than her mother, no one besides the doctors that took care of her when she was rescued and the ones she had seen since when she had gone in for checkups had seen the scars that had been left on her body. She wasn't ashamed of them and saw them as evidence of her survival and now that they were nearly faded she was ready to let Tristan and the rest of the world see.

"Rory," Tristan whispered, holding back the tears that wanted to fall, his eyes focusing on the faint lines on her back as he rubbed the sunscreen into her skin. He had seen enough and had enough understanding of what she had endured during her time as a captive that he shouldn't have been surprised by the marks on her skin, "You never said…"

"Hey, I'm okay. It doesn't hurt," Rory said, turning over, laying a hand on his cheek, brushing away the lone tear he hadn't been able to fight with the pad of her thumb. She followed his eyes as they left hers and dropped to her exposed stomach where two more faint lines resided.

"I'm done hiding. This vacation is about us having time together, to be together, to escape the pains of the reality we've been living in the past six months. I've been living with these scars, scared to show them to you and to the world our of fear of pity and questions of how I got them. I'm done being scared. My scars are proof that I survived; that I went through something terrible and am still here."

"You're the most amazing woman, you know that," Tristan told her, leaning his head down to kiss the lines on her stomach before indicating for her to turn over so he could repeat the action on her back, "You should never feel like you have to hide anything from me."

"I didn't want you to look at me differently," Rory told him, curling up on to the same lounge chair as him as he pulled her so she was partially laying on top of him, "I was scared that if you knew; if you saw I wasn't perfect anymore you wouldn't want to be with me."

"That could never happen. You'll always be perfect to me," Tristan told her, lifting her chin up with his finger so she would look at him as he kissed her lips, "I love you."

"I love you, too, Tris," Rory said, laying her head back on his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she closed her eyes.

* * *

An hour later, Tristan nudged Rory awake when he heard her stomach growling. They had muffins and coffee in the airport before they left the states as well as a snack on the plane, but had yet to have lunch.

"I'm going to go get us something from the cafe," Tristan said, getting up from the chair before giving Rory a kiss, "I'll be back in a bit."

"Thanks. I'm going to check in with my Mom. I forgot to call her when we got here," Rory said, taking her phone out of her bag along with a well worn copy of one of her favorite books as Tristan walked towards the poolside cafe to get them something to eat.

"Well if it isn't my worldly traveler," Lorelai said when she answered her phone.

"Mom, it's a four hour flight and we're still in the same timezone you are," Rory told her, "I'd hardly call that worldly travel."

"I consider anything outside of the country to be worldly," Lorelai said, "So, tell me, how is it? Is it as gorgeous as it looks on TV?"

"Better," Rory told her, "I know it's part of the name, but it truly is paradise here. There's this incredible view of the ocean from our room. I can sit on the couch or soak in the bathtub and lookout the floor to ceiling windows at the crisp, bright blue color of the Atlantic Ocean, it's amazing."

"Wow, be sure to send me pictures," Lorelai said.

"I will, don't worry," Rory said.

"So, other than taking in the view, what have you been up to or do I not want to know?" Lorelai asked.

"Currently we are at the pool. We came down here as soon as we unpacked and have just been lounging in the sun," Rory said, "I took a short nap and now Tristan is off getting us lunch."

"How exposed are you to the sun your lounging in?" Lorelai asked.

"Very. I decided to go with the black bikini first knowing it showed my scars off the most with that color against my pale skin," Rory said.

"How did that conversation go?" Lorelai asked.

"Pretty good. He was sad at first when he was them, but he's okay with them," Rory told her.

"I told you he would be," Lorelai said.

"I know and I knew it myself, deep down, but the thought was still there," Rory said.

"Who wants a burger?" Tristan asked, coming up from behind Rory with two drinks in his hands as a concierge from the hotel followed with their plates of food.

"Oh, Tristan's back with your food so I'll let you go," Lorelai said, "Talk to you later, kid. Love you."

"Love you, too, Mom," Rory said, "This looks delicious."

"Thank you," Tristan said to the concierge, handing him a tip after he had laid his and Rory's food on the table nearest them.

"Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you, sir," the man said to him, "Enjoy your meal."

"Thank you," Rory said before he walked away, picking up her burger to take a bite, "Mmm, so good."

"So how jealous is Lorelai right now?" Tristan asked, taking a bite of his own burger.

"Very. She asked for pictures so tonight I'm going to take a very long bath and take a picture of the ocean view to send to her," Rory told him.

* * *

The next morning after having breakfast at Todd English's restaurant, Olives, where Tristan had the frittata with a side of ham while Rory had the peaches and cream French toast with a side of brown sugar bacon, they went down to Dolphin Cay to spend the remainder of the morning among the dolphins and stingrays.

"That was magical," Rory said, walking into the living room of their suite, drying her hair with a towel after their dolphin experience.

"It was pretty cool," Tristan said, joining her on the sofa, placing an arm around her.

"Cool? It was freaking awesome. We actually swam with dolphins," Rory said, picking up her camera from the coffee table in front of them to look at the pictures they took.

"I think that one might be my favorite," Tristan said, taking the camera from her when she stopped on a picture she didn't notice he took. It was just after they had come out of the water. A cloud had moved so the sunlight framed her face perfectly as she sat on the edge of the pool watching the dolphins swim and play, a smile lighting up her face.

"When did you take this?" Rory asked, taking the camera back from to look at the picture.

"When you weren't looking. I got out of the water and when I reached for a towel I noticed you weren't behind me. I saw you sitting there with the happiest look on your face I've ever seen," Tristan said, "I just had to capture it."

"I look pretty okay, I guess," Rory said, blushing as he kissed the side of her head, smiling at her.

"Okay? You're freaking gorgeous," Tristan told her, "You always are."

"You're biased, but thank you," Rory said, just as someone knocked on their door, "Who's that?"

"I ordered lunch while you were in the shower," Tristan said, getting up to answer the door.

"Do I smell pizza?" Rory asked.

"Yep. We have a meat delight and a Bahamian spice," Tristan told her as the room service attendant set their lunch down, "Thank you."

After lunch they took a walk on the beach before going to see a movie at the Atlantis Theater. After the movie, dinner, and hours of dancing at Aura Nightclub, Rory and Tristan were exhausted and ready for bed.

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Rory and Tristan enjoyed everything the island had to offer. They spent a lot of time at the beach and pool. They checked out the casino and spent a day at the waterpark. Rory was even able to talk Tristan into spending a couple of hours in the pottery studio painting picture frames to put some of their favorite pictures from their vacation into as well as few vases to take home to give to Lorelai and Emily.

"How did I know I would find you in here?" Tristan asked, taking a seat next to Rory on a sofa in the Atlantis Library that looked out onto the beach. He had just come back from a trip to the resort's fitness center. He had encouraged Rory to check out the spa, but she decided to pass.

"Because this is my idea of heaven," she said, looking up from her book to kiss him briefly before returning her eyes to the page she was on.

"Think I can tear you away from that book long enough to tell you my idea for the rest of the day?" Tristan asked.

"I'm all ears," Rory said, noting her page in her head before closing the book, "What's up?"

"I was talking with some other guys while we were playing basketball and a couple of them mentioned having rented yachts before to spend the day out in the water," Tristan said, "What do you say?"

"I say what are we waiting for, let's do it," Rory said, taking the book with her to check it out for the day so she could read it while they were on the yacht.

Half an hour later, they were in their swimming suits and had a small bag bagged for the night they would be spending out on the water.

"So how's it feel to legally be aboard a yacht?" Tristan asked as they sat on the deck of the Cappuccino, the yacht Tristan chartered for them. When choosing one, Rory was sold immediately upon hearing what the owner had named it. The captain the owner hired to sail the patrons who chartered it had provided them with champagne and a plate of snacks which they were enjoying as they relaxed in the feel of the sun and slight breeze.

"Funny. I can't believe my Mother told you about that," Rory said, taking a sip of her champagne before reaching for a strawberry.

"Her? How come you didn't tell me?" Tristan asked, "I mean, you dropped out of Yale."

"It's not something I'm proud of. I went back. I graduated. So, I try not to think about the time I spent away from there, away from my Mom," Rory said, looking away from him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Tristan said, moving closer to her to place his arms around her and kiss her cheek.

"It's fine. You should know my history if we're going to have a future," Rory said, "There's just parts of it I prefer to forget."

"I get it. I have some things I've done that I'm not proud of, too," Tristan said, "The biggest one being the one that took me away from you."

"You're here now," Rory said, tilting her head up to kiss him, "That's what counts."

"I love you," he told her, kissing her.

"I love you, too," she said.

* * *

A few days before they were due to leave, Tristan was able to convince Rory to visit the Mandara Spa. While Rory was off getting highlights and a manicure, Tristan was getting his hair trimmed and a shave before meeting up with her for the couples massage he agreed to, to get convince to herself pampered.

"Hmm, that was the best," Rory said, walking into their room with Tristan after their trip to the spa, "Who knew a massage could feel so good. I'm going to have to find a good spa back home."

"I told you, you would enjoy it," Tristan said, wrapping his arms around her from behind, "We have a few days left if you want to go back."

"I may just do that," Rory said, turning around in his arms to wrap hers around him as she reached up on her toes to kiss him, deepening it quickly and pulling him towards their bedroom door.

"Rory, what are you doing?" Tristan asked, pulling away from her when he realized the direction they were moving when she stopped just outside the entrance to their bathroom.

"Shower with me?" she asked, holding out her hand to him as she took a step back towards the large, glass enclosed shower.

"You're sure?" he asked, placing his hand in hers as he took a step towards her.

"Very," Rory said, dropping his hand for a moment, reaching behind her to undo the strap of her bikini top, letting the small, scrap of material fall to the floor.

"Wow," Tristan whispered, removing his trunks as she took him by the hand again after removing her bikini bottoms, "Apparently today wasn't your first trip to the spa."

"I paid a visit to the spa before I went to the library the other day," Rory said, running her hands down his chest as they stood together under the water, "I wasn't sure if I would be ready, but I wanted to be prepared just in case."

"You didn't have to do that, you know," he said, trailing his fingers down her back, kissing every inch of exposed skin he could reach.

"I know. I wanted to," Rory said, tilting her head to the side to give him better access to her neck, while she scraped her nails across his back.

"I love you so much, Mary," Tristan said, capturing her mouth with his as he lifted her up into his arms, her legs wrapping around him.

"I love you, too," Rory told him.

Hours later they laid together in each other's arms in the bed in their room, Rory's head on Tristan's chest, a thin sheet covering their bodies.

"So did that live up to your high school fantasies?" Rory asked, kissing his chest and he played with the ends of her hair.

"That put my high school fantasies to shame," he said, kissing the top of her head, "My sixteen year old imagination could never dream that moment could be more perfect."

"A little cocky are we?" Rory asked, looking up at him with a smile.

"You telling me that wasn't perfect?" Tristan asked.

"No, you're right. That was pretty perfect," Rory said, laying her hand on his cheek as she kissed him, "You're pretty perfect, too. Thank you for bringing me here. This trip was perfect."

"You're welcome. I'd do anything to make you happy," Tristan said.

"You do that just by being here and being you. I love you," Rory said, rolling over so she was now laying on his chest completely.

"I love you, too, so much," he said, kissing her as she pushed herself closer to him.


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: "It's beautiful. It's like being back in North Carolina."

* * *

"Are you ready for this?" Rory asked as they drove past a sign on the highway informing them Stars Hollow was ten miles away.

"Rory, I've been to Stars Hollow before," Tristan said, looking at her from the driver's seat, her hand clasped in his. Until they made a final decision on whether they would continue living in Washington or move somewhere else and until Tristan decided what he wanted to do now, they wanted to stick with just having Rory's car. Tristan would look into buying one once they knew what all their plans were.

"But last time you were merely a visitor. You were in town to cause trouble while actually, or at least you were supposed to actually be practicing Romeo and Juliet," Rory said, "Now you're the hero soldier, saving and dating the town princess."

"You really think highly of yourself don't you," he said.

"I have to if I'm going to keep up with your ego," she told him.

"Oh, that's funny," he said, "So, what's the plan when we get there?"

"I was thinking we go straight to Mom's so we can drop off our stuff and the car," Rory said, "Then I will give you a tour while we walk to Luke's."

"And you're sure Lorelai and Luke are cool with us staying at the house together, sharing your room?" Tristan asked, "Because I can sleep on the couch or at the inn or wherever."

"Yes, it's fine," Rory told him, "They know we're together and my Mom knows I sleep better with you next to me."

"And when April comes in later this week?" he asked.

"Oh, then you'll definitely be on the couch while April and I share the trundle," Rory said.

"Serious?" he asked.

"No idea," Rory told him, "Mom never mentioned anything about sleeping arrangements when I told her we were both coming other than that she was cool with us sharing."

"I guess we'll find out when we get there," Tristan said.

"Guess we will," Rory said.

* * *

"What the…" Rory said as she and Tristan walked into her old room.

"Huh, not exactly how I pictured it," Tristan said, looking around the room that looked nothing like their bedroom or any of the rooms in their apartment in Washington.

The trundle bed that had been put in when Lorelai and Christopher were married for Rory to share with Gigi had been replaced since Rory was there in September. Now in its place was a full size canopy bed with purple and black striped bedding that Rory had never seen before. Her desk had been replaced and when she looked in the closet, the few clothes she had left there were gone. In their place were clothes a size too small and contained styles more like what she would have worn as a teenager. And the bulletin board, hung next to the bed, once covered in Harvard memorabilia and later Yale was now home to pictures of her stepsister and a few girls she didn't recognize.

"Rory?" Lorelai called, rushing into the house after coming home when she heard Rory's car had been seen in town.

"In my room, sort of," Rory told her, stepping out of the room into the kitchen, "I love April and all, but what's going on here? Where are we sleeping?"

"I'm sorry sweets. I planned to be home before you got here, but I got held up at the inn," Lorelai said, pausing to give Rory and hug as well as Tristan, "It's been a long time, Tristan. It's good to see you again."

"You, too, Lorelai," Tristan said, returning her hug.

"Mom? My room," Rory said.

"Right. Like I said, I wanted to be here before you got home to give you the grand tour," Lorelai said, walking towards the back door, "Follow me."

"Outside?" Rory asked, "What did Luke finally build me that treehouse I begged you for when I was twelve?"

"Not quite," Lorelai said, leading them to the side door of the garage, unlocking the door, "Rory, Tristan...I present to you the guest cottage."

"Oh, my," Rory said, stepping into the garage, looking around the space, "Why?"

"April hasn't made her final decision, but all of her acceptances have been for schools in the area so she'll need a place to stay when she's on a break and doesn't want to fly back to New Mexico or wants a weekend away from the dorm," Lorelai said, "Plus we figured you and Tristan deserved a more private place all your own when you come visit."

"This is amazing, Mom," Rory said.

The walls had been repainted in the pale yellow color that matched the bedroom of the beach house Rory had rented in North Carolina. The queen sized bed had a comforter designed with images of starfish and seashells. There were bookcases, two dressers, and a new desk. And to further recreate the image of the North Carolina beach house, the photo Rory had sent her upon her arrival at the beach had been blown up, framed, and placed over the head board.

"So, what do you think, sweets?" Lorelai asked

"I love it. I can't believe you did this for me, for us," Rory said, "It's beautiful. It's like being back in North Carolina."

"This is incredible, Lorelai," Tristan said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Lorelai said, handing Rory the key to the garage, "I'll let you get all settled and I'll see you later at the diner."

"Thanks, Mom," Rory said, giving her a hug before turning back to Tristan, taking his hand to lead him back into the house to get their things, "Let's go."

* * *

Half an hour later, Rory and Tristan had emptied their bags into the dressers and closet, ready for their stay through the holidays. Rory was originally planning to just stay for Thanksgiving and come back for Christmas, but her and Tristan decided to stay in Connecticut through New Year's so he could visit his grandparents and they could spend time with her family and friends. They were also going to look into places in Hartford and New York to consider moving into.

"You sure you're ready for this?" Rory asked as she took his hand and led him away from her childhood home, walking towards her first destination, Lane's house to introduce her new boyfriend to her best friend.

"You asked me that before, you know," he said.

"I know, but now we're here, walking out in the open," Rory told him, "Anyone of these people eyeing us could just walk up and talk to us."

"They would really do that?" Tristan asked, looking around as he noticed the eyes that turned towards them as they walked past.

"Oh, absolutely," Rory told him as they approached Miss Patty's Dance Studio, smirking when she noticed the door was open and heard music coming from inside.

"Rory, dear. Come. Introduce me to your friend," Miss Patty said, stepping outside the dance studio when she saw Rory and Tristan approaching.

"Good luck," Rory whispered into his ear, giving his hand a squeeze, "Hey, Miss Patty. It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too, dear," Miss Patty said, giving Rory a hug, "Now, introduce an old woman to your young man."

"Miss Patty, I'd like you to meet my boyfriend, Tristan DuGrey," Rory said, urging Tristan forward towards her.

"It's a pleasure, ma'am," Tristan said, reaching a hand out to her to shake, "Rory's told me a lot about you."

"Not nearly enough, I'm sure," Miss Patty said, ignoring his offered hand and grabbing him for a hug, giving his behind a quick squeeze, "Oh, you're perfect."

"Uh, thank you, ma'am," Tristan said, blushing a bit.

"And so polite. You found a good one, Rory," Miss Patty said.

"Thanks. We need to get going," Rory said, taking Tristan's hand again, "I promised Lane I would come by when I got here."

"See you around dear," Miss Patty said, "And Tristan, come by anytime."

"She grabbed my ass," Tristan whispered into Rory's ear as they walked away, "She grabbed it hard."

"I asked you if you were up for this," Rory told him.

"You didn't tell me that was the reason you asked," Tristan said, "You could have warned me."

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked, walking up the porch steps of Lane and Zach's house to knock on the door.

"You are a cruel, cruel woman," he said.

"Rory!" Lane said, opening the door, greeting her with a hug, "I've missed you."

"It's only been a month, Lane," Rory said.

"A month is too long to go without seeing your best friend and Godmother to your children," Lane said.

"Where are the boys? I'm dying to see them," Rory said, walking into the house, having a seat on the couch with Tristan.

"They are with Mama for the day," Lane said, "They love being at the store. They're actually pretty good salesmen."

"They're three," Rory said, "Anyway, Lane, this is Tristan."

"I don't believe we ever formally met, but I remember seeing you at the party sophomore year," Tristan said, offering a hand to Lane.

"I remember you, too," Lane said, "Your the guy Rory kissed and ran off crying after."

"Lane! You know it wasn't technically the kiss that made me cry," Rory said.

"Oh, I know," Lane said.

"Yes, you would be correct. Rory and I kissed at that party. She cried, she ran, she bruised my ego," Tristan said.

"Oh, your ego survived that just fine," Rory said, patting his leg, "You're quick to recover."

"So, how long are you staying in town for this time?" Lane asked.

"We'll be in the area through New Year's at least," Rory told her, "But we plan to visit Tristan's grandparent's in Hartford as well as mine. I'm going to go visit my Dad and we'll spend some time in New York with Paris and Doyle."

"Are you planning on staying or going back to Washington after?" Lane asked.

"We're not sure yet," Rory said.

"I don't know what I want to do now and Rory's focusing on her book so really we could live anywhere," Tristan said.

"We just have to decide where," Rory said, "We're going to look around at few areas while we're here, but haven't narrowed anything down."

"Any chance one of those areas is Stars Hollow?" Lane asked.

"It's definitely on the list," Tristan told her, "I never saw myself living in a small town, but after all my years on an army base and in the desert, a small town might be a nice change."

* * *

"So, next stop Luke's Diner," Rory said, walking with Tristan's across the square after leaving Lane's. They had already been stopped by Gypsy, Andrew, and a few other townspeople.

"Rory?" they heard, stopping them just outside the diner.

"Is that?" Tristan asked, not yet turning around.

"Yes and be nice," Rory said, squeezing his hand before turning around to face her ex-boyfriend, "Dean, hi."

"Hey, Rory. It's good to see you," Dean said, giving her a hug before offering a hand to Tristan, "I know we've had our differences, but I want to thank you for your service and for saving our Rory, here."

"Our Rory?" Tristan asked.

"The town's Rory," Dean told him, "There'd be a lot of people lost without her around here."

"I know the feeling," Tristan said, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"So, what are you doing here?" Rory asked, "I thought you usually stayed home for Thanksgiving."

"Jenny's parents decided to visit her brother in Texas," Dean said, "And I didn't really want her trying to cook a whole big meal just the two of us so far into her pregnancy so we came here."

"That's great. How much longer does she have?" Rory asked.

"Six weeks. She's due just after the first of the year," Dean said.

"Have you decided on a name yet?" Rory asked.

"Not yet. We've got a list a mile long, though," Dean said, "We're leaning towards just taking the list with us into the delivery room and picking what feels right when we see him."

"That might be best. You'll know in the moment what the perfect name is," Rory said.

"We hope so," Dean said, "Well, I better get going. I promised Jenny ice cream and I'm sure you're dying for a cup of Luke's coffee."

"Definitely," Rory said, giving Dean a hug, "It was really good to see you."

"You, too," Dean said, turning to shake Tristan's hand again, "See you around."

"Bye, Dean," Rory said before walking away from Dean to go into Luke's.

"Rory, good, your here," Lorelai said, looking up when she heard the chime of the door, "Luke, another cup of coffee over here."

"Two, please, actually," Tristan said.

"He drinks coffee, good," Lorelai said, "So how did the walk through town go?"

"Entertaining. Thanks, Luke," Rory said when he set two cups of coffee in front of her and Tristan, "And thanks so much for the room. It's amazing."

"Your welcome," Luke said, giving her a brief hug before turning to Tristan, "Luke Danes."

"Tristan DuGrey, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you," Tristan said, shaking Luke's hand.

"You treat her right or this whole town will be after you with me leading the charge," Luke told him, gripping his hand tightly, "You got me?"

"Understood, sir. I'd sooner hurt myself than do anything to cause Rory any pain," Tristan told him.

"Good. I'll get some burgers going for you guys," Luke said.

"Thanks, Luke," Rory said.

"You did good," Lorelai said.

"I haven't been that nervous since I was first sent to military school," Tristan said.

"I told you I was loved around here," Rory said.

"And rightly so," he told her, wrapping an arm around her waist and kissing the side of her head, "This is really good coffee."

"It's the best," Lorelai said, "So tell me about your walk through town. What was so entertaining."

"Well, we were stopped by nearly everyone we came across, everywhere we went," Rory said, "Miss Patty's was the first place we passed."

"She got you good, didn't she?" Lorelai asked.

"Did everyone know that would happen?" Tristan asked.

"Yes," Luke said, approaching their table with their plates, "Have you met Babette yet?"

"No, not yet," Tristan said.

"Watch out for her, too," Luke told him.

"Is he serious?" Tristan asked.

"Very," Rory told him, "You think your ass is sore now."

"Oh, joy," Tristan said before taking a bite of his burger, "This is really delicious."

"We didn't eat here everyday growing up for nothing," Rory said.

"Yeah, wait until you try his pancakes," Lorelai said.

"And pies. He makes really good pie," Rory told him.

"I have a feeling I'm going to be going for a lot of runs to keep up with your eating habits," Tristan said.

"He's a runner?" Lorelai asked.

"Unfortunately," Rory said, "And an early runner at that."

"Yuck," Lorelai said.

"Are you telling me you don't exercise either?" Tristan asked.

"Nope. Who needs to exercise when you have Lorelai genes," she told him.

"Medical marvels, both of you," Tristan said.

* * *

Thanksgiving day, Luke prepared a meal for the five of them. April arrived Wednesday morning and was staying until Sunday. Richard and Emily had taken a vacation and wouldn't be back until just before Christmas. Rory and Tristan would still be going to Hartford as his grandparents invited him and Rory for dinner. Since his parents were in another country, Tristan didn't mind going to Hartford to see them for the holiday.

"Are you nervous or something?" Tristan asked, looking over at her as they turned onto his grandparents street. She had been quiet most of the ride and kept fussing with things; the hem of her dress, the stations on the radio, and she was avoiding holding his hand.

"The last time I met anyone's family didn't go so well," she said, looking down at her hands.

"Hey, grandparents are nothing like the Huntzberger's," Tristan told her, reaching across to grab her hand, stopping her from attempting to smooth out the nonexistent wrinkles in her dress, "My parents aren't the greatest people, but they'll love you strictly because you're a Gilmore."

"I thought the same thing when I met Logan's family, but even my last name couldn't make them happy," Rory said, "They didn't want a wife who works."

"Well, as shallow as it is, whenever you do meet my parents they won't care if you have the highest paying job in the world or you make minimum wage at a coffee," he said, "You've got the last name and the trust fund to go with, that's all that matters to them."

"That's terrible. You deserve better than that," she told.

"I have better than that," he said, bringing her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles, "I have the best."

* * *

"Tristan, darling boy, it's so good to see you," his grandmother, Elizabeth DuGrey, said, giving him a hug as he kissed her cheek.

"It's good to see you too, Grandma. Thank you for having us," Tristan said, placing a hand on Rory's back to lead her into the living room.

"It's our pleasure, son," Janlan DuGrey said, shaking Tristan's hand before turning to Rory, "Miss Gilmore, We've heard so many wonderful things about you, both from Tristan and your grandparents. Welcome to our home."

"Thank you for having me, Mr. DuGrey and please, call me Rory," she told him, "Tristan speaks very highly of both you and Mrs. DuGrey."

"There will be none of that Mr. and Mrs. nonsense, dear. Call me Lizzy," Elizabeth DuGrey said, "Or you could just skip right to Grandma and Grandpa."

"Lizzy, they just started seeing each other," Janlan said.

"You know as well as I do that time means nothing when it comes to true love," Lizzy said, taking his hand in hers, a smile on her face.

"Quite right, dear," Janlan said, kissing her cheek, "When it's right, you know right away."

"Tristan, why don't you give Rory a tour while I check on dinner," Lizzy suggested a moment later.

"Sure, come on, I'll show you around," Tristan said, getting off the sofa and holding his hand out for Rory to take, leading her upstairs towards his old room.

"Wow, it's like a time capsule in here," Rory said, looking around at the old band posters and pictures of half naked girls on cars.

"Yeah, my grandparents comes in and cleans, but otherwise they've kept it like it was from when I'd come over and stay in high school," Tristan told her as she moved throughout the room, taking a seat on his bed.

"Your grandparents have been together a long time," Rory said.

"Married over forty years," Tristan said, "They met when they were teenagers and got married as soon as they turned eighteen."

"Wow. That's a long time," Rory said.

"They didn't freak you out did they, with their talk of love at first sight and calling them Grandma and Grandpa?" he asked.

"No. You already know I love you and I know you've loved me since Chilton," Rory said, "I do think it's a little early to be getting married, but I could see us there, someday."

"You did have that dream when we were in North Carolina," he said.

"And what a good dream it was," Rory said, getting up from the bed to wrap her arms around him, leaning up on her toes to kiss him, "I love you, Tristan DuGrey."

"I love you, too, Rory Gilmore," Tristan said.

* * *

 **AN:** Any thoughts or suggestions on where Rory and Tristan should call home? Or what Tristan should do now that he is out of the Army? In my story, though I've not said it, Tristan never went to college, he went straight into the Army after military school. I've considered having him go to school for a few years, but I haven't decided where or what he would study. I welcome any suggestions. Happy reading!


	17. Chapter 16

**AN:** How about an all Trory chapter! A little fluffy. Thank you to jordana60 for the idea for Tristan's job. I love it!

* * *

Chapter 16: "I've dreamed of this moment."

* * *

"Tris, I realize it's been awhile since you spent any time in Hartford, but the highway back to Stars Hollow is the complete other direction," Rory said as they drove through Hartford, away from his grandparents house after their Thanksgiving dinner.

"I know that. We're going somewhere else first," Tristan told her.

"Any chance you're going to tell me where?" Rory asked.

"Nope," he said, looking over at her with a smirk when he heard her sigh in frustration.

"Will you at least tell me if it's close?" Rory asked, "I need a bathroom."

"We'll be there in five minutes," Tristan said.

"Who lives here?" Rory asked a few minutes later as they pulled into the driveway of a mansion bigger than both her grandparents house and his.

"My parents," he said, turning the car off and getting out of the walk, walking around to open her door for her.

"Your parents? I thought they were gone for the holidays," Rory said.

"They are, but I still have a key," Tristan said, "If they left it alone, there are a few things I want to get from my room."

"Wow!" Rory said upon entering the house, looking at the living room furniture, "And I thought my grandparents house was filled with too much antique furniture."

"Yeah, they spend almost no time in this house. They're always on vacation somewhere, often separately, but the house still has to be the perfect display of their wealth filled with whatever priceless, expensive furniture they can find," Tristan said, "I'm going to go see what wine they have in the cellar. There's a bathroom just down the hall. Make yourself at home."

"Thanks. Hopefully I don't get lost. Is there a map or tour guide to this place?" Rory asked.

"You'll be fine. Holler if you need me," Tristan said, giving her a kiss before going off towards the kitchen.

* * *

After using the bathroom, Rory hadn't heard Tristan come back towards her direction so she decided to look around the house, hoping to find him. She glanced in a couple rooms, finding his father's office and several guestrooms before opening the door to a room at the end of the hall on the second floor that put a smile on her face. Entering the room she took a look around before grabbing a slightly dust covered book from the top shelf of the bookcase and sitting on the window seat that looked out onto the gardens in the backyard below.

"I was wondering if you would end up in here," Tristan said, entering the room carrying two glasses of wine, startling Rory in the process, causing the book in her hands to fall, a picture slipping out from the back cover, "Sorry, I should have known not to sneak up on you when you're reading."

"It's fine. It's been awhile since I've read so I guess I got lost in it," Rory said, leaning forward to pick up the fallen book and picture, turning it over in her hands, "What's this?"

"Oh, I kind of forgot that was even in there," Tristan said, setting the glasses of wine down on his desk and joining her on the window seat.

"It's another picture of me," Rory said, looking at him as he avoided her eyes. This picture was different from the one she found in his boxes back at in D.C., "Tris? How did you get this?"

"I took it," Tristan said, glancing at the photo in her hand. It easily became his favorite when he took it. He didn't know it was still in his room in the back of that book, "I thought I lost it though."

"But, how?" Rory asked, confused how get managed to take such a beautiful picture of her and she didn't know it. She knew exactly when it had been taken. She was in a teal dress, a small part of her hair was pulled back in little braids, tied together with a flower, "After I was ready I went for a walk by the lake before everyone started showing up. It was Sookie's wedding, but I was the one who was nervous. Things were rough with me and Dean and Paris had talked me into running for student council. I was scared of being away from him the whole summer."

"That was a few months after I was sent away. They wanted me to stay there all summer, but they wanted me back for my grandfather's birthday since it wouldn't look right if I wasn't there," Tristan said, "I hated being back here and couldn't sleep. I woke up early that morning and just drove. Before I knew it I was in Stars Hollow."

"What brought you to the inn?" Rory asked.

"I parked by that old bridged you took me to and got out to walk," he told her, "I wasn't wearing my usually DuGrey approved wardrobe so no one thought anything of it when I walked by. I heard bits of a few conversations about a wedding, the inn and I hear a few people mention Lorelai. I was curious so I went looking for it."

"What's that?" Rory asked as he got up, grabbing another book from the shelf, setting it on her lap.

"Open it," he told her.

"Oh, wow, Tris. These are amazing," Rory said, looking through page after page of images of the trees and the lake behind the inn, and several pictures of the inn itself. It was the black and white photo on the last past that caused her to pause, "Can...can I have this one? Or a copy at least?"

"It's your town, Rory, you can have them all if you want," Tristan told her, wiping a tear from her cheek he noticed had fallen, "What's wrong?"

"You know, I skipped this inn on our tour the other day," Rory said.

"Yeah, I was wondering why, but I figured you had your reasons," Tristan said, "I wasn't hiding this from you, I just wasn't sure how you would feel about me having spent time in Stars Hollow before."

"It's fine. I love these pictures," Rory told him, smiling now as she looked at the black and white photo of her first home.

"What's so special about this one?" he asked, noticing she had yet to take her eyes off the photo of the little garden shed that sat on the edge of the lake.

"This was our first home," Rory said, "After Mom left my grandparents when I was a baby."

"Really?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, one day she just up and left and we ended up in Stars Hollow. She found the inn and the owner Mia gave her a job and gave us the garden shed to live in," Rory told him, "We were there until I was ten, I think, maybe twelve. Until Mom could afford the house she has now, this was home."

"Wow! That's incredible," Tristan said, "I already respected Lorelai for doing things her own way instead of the way the Gilmore's wanted, but to give up everything so she could do what she wanted, raise you how she saw fit. That's beyond amazing. I don't think I could have done that."

"You're doing that now. Your parents may have sent you to military school as a punishment, but look at you now," Rory said, "You made it your life."

"True, but at sixteen and with a baby. Lorelai is a lot stronger than I was," Tristan said.

"Why didn't you come say hello when you saw me instead of just taking this picture?" Rory asked.

"I didn't want to ruin the moment. You looked so peaceful and the sun hit you just right," he said, "I don't know if it was the fact I had been at a school with nothing, but guys for months or if you really are that ethereal, but I took one look at you and thought I had never seen you look more beautiful. It was a perfect moment. I didn't want my mouth to ruin it by saying something stupid."

"It's probably best. I don't know what I would have said or did if I saw you," Rory said, "I may have ended up kissing you instead of Jess."

"I thought you were with Dean?" Tristan asked.

"I was. Jess had moved away a few weeks before and decided to come back. He showed up just before the ceremony. We talked, I kissed him, and then ran off to be a bridesmaid," Rory said, "Dean and I broke up a few months later and Jess and I got together."

"Hmm, so our first kiss wasn't the only one you ran from, then," he said.

"No, it wasn't. I ran after Dean kissed me the first time, too," she said, "After I thanked him."

"You thanked him for kissing you?" he asked.

"It was my first kiss. I was confused, okay," Rory told him.

"I'm guessing you didn't cry with anyone else, though," Tristan said.

"Nope, that one is unique to you," she told him with a smile.

"You know there is one thing I've always wanted to do in this room, but never had anyone I cared enough to do it with," Tristan said.

"What's that?" Rory asked.

"I've never had sex in that bed," he said.

"Seriously? The King of Chilton never had sex in his own bed?" Rory asked.

"Nope. If I could help it I never even brought anyone home. If I did we stayed in the pool house," Tristan said, "Other than my mother, grandmother, a maid or two, and Paris, you're the only girl I've ever had up here."

"Paris Gellar has been in your bedroom?" Rory asked.

"When we were kids and my parents had a party or invited hers over to show something off," he said, "We'd hide out up here until they noticed and called us down."

"Hmm, so this bed is completely untouched?" Rory asked, moving from the window seat and sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Well, not technically untouched. I've spent some time in it," Tristan said, moving to stand in front of her.

"Right, well, we're not thinking about you enjoying yourself on this bed," she said, scooting back towards the headboard, beckoning him to come closer to her, "I think it's time we christen your bed, Bible Boy."

"It will be my pleasure, Mary," he said, jumping on the bed, crashing his lips to hers, pushing her down so she was laying beneath him.

"Mmm, I love you," she said, tilting her head to side as he moved to her neck.

"I love you, too," he whispered softly against her skin, "I've dreamed of this moment."

* * *

A couple hours later they were getting dressed again after taking a shower in the bathroom attached to Tristan's bedroom. While Rory took their empty wine glasses down to the kitchen to wash and put back, Tristan began gathering items he wanted to take back with him.

"What are you doing?" Rory asked, walking into his room to see him kneeling next to the window seat, the top of it open with several items on the floor next to him.

"Getting all my treasures," he told her as she came over and kneeled next to him, looking into the storage space she hadn't realized was part of the window seat, "When I was little I would hide all my favorite toys in here so when my parents had parties and they insisted I play nicely and share with the kids of all their friends, nothing happened to my favorites. There were always a few kids who liked to play rough and break things."

"I don't imagine this a was a favorite toy from when you were a kid," Rory said, pulling a very fancy, expensive looking camera.

"No, that one got added when I was older," Tristan said, taking the camera from her, looking through the lens to test it out, "It's been sitting in here for awhile. I'm not sure it works."

"Tris, why hide this in your window seat and those pictures in an album on your bookshelf?" Rory asked, "What little I've seen are really good and you clearly enjoy it. Why not show it off? Your pictures should be on a wall somewhere, not hidden away on a bookshelf or a box."

"My parents considered photography to be a useless hobby," Tristan said, "They didn't mind it when I was younger and asked for a camera for my birthday when I was ten, but when high school started and wanted to take photography classes at Chilton they told me I had to grow up, DuGrey men are lawyers, they don't fool around taking pictures."

"That's terrible. You should do what makes you happy," Rory said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I am," he said, lifting her hand from around his neck to kiss the back of it, "Finally being with you, I'm the happiest I've ever been."

"Me too," Rory said as he pulled her from behind him to sit on his lap so he could kiss her.

"I want to take all this with me," Tristan said, holding up the camera again and looking at the other albums of photos that were in the window seat, "I probably need to get a new camera though. Maybe something digital so I don't have to set up a dark room."

"Maybe, but you could have a dark room if you want. You can turn the guest bathroom into one or when we find somewhere else we can make sure there's a room that we can designate as your dark room," Rory said, picking up on of the other albums, looking through the pages, "When did you take these?"

"These were some I took after I got my first camera. My parents decided to take a vacation in Europe over the summer and actually brought me along," Tristan said, "I took my camera with me so I could remember it all."

"These are amazing, Tris," Rory said, looking at his pictures of the Eiffel Tower, The London Eye, The Coliseum, and several of the streets in each city representing the daily life of the people who live there, "Wherever we decide to live we need to find homes for all of these. They're so incredible. I can't believe you were so young when you took these."

"It was just a hobby," he said with a shrug.

"This is no hobby, Tristan," Rory said, "This is what you need to be doing with your life. These pictures belong in a magazine or a gallery somewhere so people can buy them."

"Rory," he said, shaking his head.

"I'm serious. And I now just what your first job should be," Rory said, "I want you to take pictures for my book."

"Really?" he asked her, "What kind of pictures?"

"By talking to the friends and families I want to be able to show where everyone came from, but having pictures of where they grew up, the streets they lived on and played on when they were kids," Rory said, "They would take it to whole other level."

"Can I think about it?" Tristan asked.

"Absolutely," Rory said.

"And in the meantime can I practice my photography skills on you?" he asked.

"Sure, nothing dirty though. Only when I'm completely clothed, please," Rory said.

"I would never," Tristan said.

"Please, like you weren't already thinking about it," Rory said.

"Okay, maybe. I'd love some lingerie one's though, if you're up to it," Tristan said.

"I'll think about it," Rory said, looking down at her watch, "We should get back. Mom is going to wonder if we got lost."

"Alright. Let me get these things into a box and then we can go," Tristan said, "Do you really like my photos that much?"

"I love them, Tristan. They're perfect," Rory said, kissing him, "Just like you."

"I love you, Mary," Tristan said.

"I love you, too," she said.


	18. Chapter 17

**AN:** Time for a little Christmas in April!

* * *

Chapter 17: "Did I ever tell you about the day I skipped school?"

* * *

When Thanksgiving weekend was over, Rory and Tristan went up to Boston for a few days so Rory could introduce him to her Dad and Gigi. After Boston, they spent a week in New York. Rory wanted to meet with a few people for her book and having not been to the city for several years, Tristan was excited to join her, taking pictures of everything they were seeing and doing.

"This one still works pretty good, but I want to look into something digital so making prints and everything is easier," Tristan said as he put his camera back into its bag after taking a photo of a building that caught his eye.

"Good idea. Plus with digital you could upload them straight to a website so other people can see them and maybe buy them," Rory said.

"Why would anyone want to buy any of my pictures?" Tristan asked, "My picture of the Empire State Building is no different than anyone else's."

"Perhaps, but those pictures you showed me that you took overseas might be of interest to people," Rory said, "And you never know. National Geographic or city specific publications might be interested the pictures you take of different landmarks or whatever."

"We'll see. I'm good just taking pictures for me," Tristan said.

"Though you could always just publish them yourself," Rory said, completely ignoring his words, "We can show them to Jess and you can publish Truncheon's first ever photo book. It's brilliant."

"Rory, I've been back to taking pictures on a regular basis for a week," Tristan reminded her, "I'm having fun with it. I have all the time in the world to decide if I want to seriously do something with them, okay?"

"Okay," Rory said, leaning up to kiss him, "Just tell me you'll think about it."

"I will. I'll think about every one of the thousand options you have given me," he told her.

"It wasn't that many," she said, taking his hand in hers again as they walked through New York towards the restaurant they were meeting Logan and his girlfriend Ashlee at. Logan had told her when she was in New York in September to call him whenever she was in town and to bring Tristan around when he was home.

"So how awkward is this dinner going to be?" Tristan asked.

"If the two of you start comparing notes, very awkward," Rory said, getting a raised eyebrow from Tristan, "It will be fine. Logan told me himself just from talking to you on the phone that one time when he was in D.C. that he thought you were a nice guy and would be good for me."

"Really? So the guys isn't a complete idiot, then," Tristan said.

"What makes him an idiot at all?" Rory asked.

"He let you go," Tristan said, letting go of her hand to wrap an arm around her and kissing the top of her head, "I could never do that."

As they were crossing Waverly Place on their way towards 10th Street, Rory couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit as she realized they just walked by Washington Square Park.

"What's so funny?" Tristan asked.

"We just passed Washington Square Park," Rory said.

"I'm aware," Tristan said, "What's so funny about that?"

"Did I ever tell you about the day I skipped school?" Rory asked him.

"No, I'm pretty sure I would have remembered that," he said as they turned onto 10th Street, walking towards Alta Restaurant, a Mediterranean tapas restaurant, "You skipped school? When?"

"Junior year. It was a just a few months after you left, actually," Rory told him, continuing on with the story of her adventure in The Big Apple to Jess, missing Lorelai's graduation, all while wearing her Chilton uniform.

"You're serious. You actually did that. You were at Chilton and just left," Tristan said.

"Yep. I still don't know what came over me. I'd never done anything like that before," Rory said.

"You liked Jess and you missed him," Tristan told her, "That's why you came down to North Carolina. You missed me and wanted to see me."

"Jess was my friend. I knew I liked him. I guess I just never realized how much I liked him until I lost all sense of rationality and took off to New York alone on a bus," Rory said.

"That was definitely a pretty un-Rory like move," Tristan said, holding the door to the restaurant open for her.

Once inside the restaurant, Tristan gave the hostess Logan's name. He and Ashlee were already seated so they were led to them.

"Ace," Logan said, getting up from his seat and greeting Rory with a brief kiss on the cheek before turning his attention to Tristan, "DuGrey, good to finally meet you."

"You, too, Huntzberger," Tristan said, shaking his hand as Rory and Ashlee hugged, Ashlee eyeing Tristan as the two of them giggled when Ashlee realized he was even better looking in person.

"Tristan DuGrey, this is Ashlee Porter, my girlfriend," Logan said, laying a hand on Ashlee's back as he introduced the two.

"Pleasure, Dr. Porter," Tristan said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it.

"Ashlee, please," she said, blushing as he lips brushed her hand, "Such a charmer you've got Rory."

"It's the society upbringing," Rory said, taking a seat in the chair Tristan pulled out for her.

"True. They can try to get as far away from it as possible, but it's still in them," Ashlee said as took her seat, both Logan and Tristan waiting to take their's until the girls were seated.

"You won't get any complaints from me," Rory said, "I like being independent, but sometimes it's nice being taken care of."

"Agreed, so what looks good," Ashlee said, opening her menu.

"Almost everything," Rory said, "The fried goat cheese, scallops, oh paella."

"The grilled radicchio and eggplant look pretty good, too," Ashlee said.

"Eh, vegetables. I'll skip that page," Rory said.

"Typical, Gilmore," Logan said, shaking his head as he laughed.

"Hey, there's red peppers on the lamb meatballs," Rory said.

"Which you'll eat around," Tristan said.

"The important thing is that the pepper will leave its essence," Rory said.

"Red pepper essence?" Ashlee questioned.

"Don't ask," Logan told her.

* * *

A few hours later, they had sampled most of the menu, snacks, cheeses, meats, and desserts. They had also polished off a couple different bottles of wine, both white and red to go with their main tapas and a sparkling during dessert. Logan and Ashlee had recently moved in together and were planning a party for New Year's Eve and invited Rory and Tristan. Near the end of the evening when Tristan and Ashlee had both excused themselves to use the restroom, Logan took the opportunity to discuss something with Rory.

"I'm not sure the protocol here, but I feel it's only right to tell you that I've been thinking about proposing to Ashlee," Logan told her.

"Really? Wow, you've been together, what, six months?" Rory asked.

"It's soon, I know," Logan said.

"No, well yes, but you've known each other awhile and when it's right, how long doesn't matter," Rory said.

"You think so?" Logan asked, "We were together for three years."

"Like I said, how long doesn't matter. My mom told me after graduation that if it were right, I wouldn't have hesitated," Rory told him, "If it were right, I would have been able to answer right away, I wouldn't have needed to think about it."

"So if Tristan came out here and asked?" Logan wondered.

"We're talking about you right now, but yes," Rory told him, "I'm sorry if that upsets you at all, but my answer would be yes, without hesitation."

"That's good. I'm glad for you," Logan told her, "I told you before, I think he's good for you."

"And Ashlee's good for you," Rory told him.

"You think she'll say yes?" Logan asked.

"She'd be a fool not to," Rory said with a laugh, "But one small bit of advice."

"What's that?" Logan asked.

"Keep it private. No more public proposals. As sure or as much in love as a girl is," Rory said, "The last thing we want is to be put on the spot."

"Noted. I don't one hundred percent have a plan, but I was thinking of doing it New Year's Eve," Logan said, "Find a private spot during the party or after."

"Sounds like a plan," Rory said, "I'm happy for you Logan. I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy."

"Me too, Ace," Logan said, "It's good to see your real smile again. And if you want, I can drop DuGrey a few hints."

"No, I'm good. I'd say yes, but I don't want to freak him out," Rory said, "We've only really been together a little over a month."

"And he's been in love with you since you were sixteen," Logan reminded her.

"I'm good with what I have for the moment," Rory said, "I don't need a ring."

"Alright, well if you change your mind. I'll be happy to give a hint that you're ready," Logan said.

"Thanks," Rory said, looking towards the hallway, seeing Tristan and Ashlee coming back, "Time to shelve this topic."

"Right," Logan said.

* * *

"Merry Christmas, Mary," Tristan said, running his nose along her cheek and kissing her neck to wake her up, the morning of December twenty-fifth.

"Too early," Rory mumbled, laying her head on his chest, pulling the blanket tighter around her, "Too cold."

"That's because it's snowing," Tristan said, kissing the top of her head.

"It's snowing?" Rory asked, opening her eyes and moving her head off him to look out the window.

"Yeah, it's gorgeous, too," Tristan said, moving her with him as he sat up in the bed, wrapping an arm around her, "It's been ages since I saw a good snowfall."

"It's magical. The best things always happen when it snows," Rory told him, kissing his chest before getting off the bed to look out the window.

"Like what?" he asked, joining her at the window, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"Lots of things. Some of my best memories growing up were when it snowed, Mom's, too," she told him, "I took my first steps when it snowed."

"Your birthday is in October. I was walking at ten months," Tristan said, "I figured you for an early bloomer on that one, too."

"I was a little late on that one and it snowed early that year," Rory told him, "We had snow on Halloween."

"Ah. Well, we need to work on making some snow memories of our own," Tristan said, moving in front of her, running his fingers along her back underneath her top, moving her back towards the bed.

"Mmm," Rory said, leaning into him as he kissed her, "Memories are going to have to wait until later as I'm sure Mom will be in here any minute if we don't get into the house soon."

"She set up the garage so we would have a private space all to ourselves," Tristan said, kissing her neck.

"True, but it's Christmas. If we're not in soon, she'll be in here demanding we get up and get to opening presents," Rory told him, moving to get out from under him.

"She's like a little kid," Tristan said, getting up from the bed to get dressed before going into the house.

"Pretty much," Rory told him, "Let's go."

* * *

"Merry Christmas, guys. Did you see the snow?" Lorelai said, handing Rory and Tristan both a cup of coffee when they came into the kitchen through the back door.

"You mean that soft, falling, magical, white stuff, no, didn't see that," Tristan said, laughing behind his coffee cup.

"So Rory explained the magic of the snow," Lorelai said.

"Briefly," Tristan said.

"Snow is not magic, it's weather," Luke said, laying a plate of pancakes in the middle of the kitchen table.

"Eat up and then we can open presents," Lorelai said, grabbing several pancakes for herself.

"What time do we have to be at Grandma and Grandpa's?" Rory asked, pouring syrup over her stack of pancakes.

"Dinner's at seven so we'll get there at six for drinks," Lorelai said.

"And it's just us, right?" Rory asked, "Grandma isn't going to surprise us with a bunch of their friends is she?"

"No, just the four of us and them,"Lorelai said, "She knows you're not ready to be thrust into the arms of all of Hartford Society."

"Good. I know it would basically be all people I know from the DAR and everything, but I just want to enjoy the holiday," Rory said, "I'm not up for answering everyone's questions and hearing how glad everyone is to see me."

"Right. That's probably best left for another time," Lorelai said.

Once everyone had their fill of pancakes and bacon, the four of them moved to the living room to open their presents. The first one Rory opened was one Jess had sent to her. He and Ally were spending Christmas with her family.

"I don't believe it," Rory said, flipping through the pages of the book she had received from Jess.

"He got you a book. My, how shocking," Tristan said.

"I expected a book, it's what we do, but not this one," Rory said.

" _The Fountainhead_? Where's the surprise in that?" Tristan asked, reading the title, "You love Ayn Rand."

"Yes, I do, but Jess doesn't," Rory told him, "He's referred to her on more than one occasion as a political nut, but he actually read this."

"How do you know?" Tristan asked.

"He wrote in the margins," Rory said, "A lot of complaints and annoyance, but he actually read it. He picked up a Rand book and got all the way through it."

"Okay, so that explains that top shelf of your bookcase," Tristan said, "I was wondering why you had books with writing in them that didn't belong to you."

"Yeah, Jess has been writing notes in the margins of my books since we met," Rory said.

"He has some interesting thoughts," Tristan said, looking through the book after Rory handed it to him, "I'm going to have to check out some of the others when we got back home."

"Okay, enough with the books. Who's next?" Lorelai asked.

"Here. They're the same, but these are for the two of you," Tristan said, handing Rory and Lorelai both identically wrapped packages.

"Oh, wow, Tris…" Rory said, "This is…"

"Amazing," Lorelai said, "Where did you get these?"

"I took them," Tristan said, "When I first showed some of these to Rory she mentioned it had been Sookie's wedding. I was back for a bit and I needed to get away from Hartford. I found myself here and the inn and everything was so beautiful."

"This is incredible, Tristan, thank you," Lorelai said, setting down her copy of the collage he had put together for her and Rory to give him a hug. In addition to the picture of the potting shed that had first caught Rory's eye, Tristan had included a couple different pictures of the Independence Inn as well as done a bit of work to include pictures of Lorelai and Rory now and when they were living at the inn as if they were in them.

"You did good, babe," Rory said, laying a hand on his cheek to kiss him, "This is perfect, thank you."

"You're welcome, both of you," Tristan said, kissing Rory and giving Lorelai another hug before grabbing Luke's present.

"Thank you. This is great," Luke said, looking over the new fishing pole Tristan had got for him.

"Okay, so this is from all of us," Rory said, handing a package to Tristan, "I would have just gotten it for you myself, but Mom was at a loss for what to get you and I knew you would flip out if you knew I spent this much on my own sooo…"

"Wow!" Tristan exclaimed, seeing the picture on the box when he ripped off a small piece of the wrapping paper, "This is one I was looking at. How did you know?"

"I may have searched the history on my laptop after you used it," Rory said, "I know nothing about cameras so I wanted to get one I knew you would like."

"Thank you. This is great. I can't wait to use it," Tristan said, opening the box to take out the guide to start reading up on his new camera.

* * *

"I did get you one other present," Tristan told Rory as they were dressing to go to the Gilmore's for dinner, holding a small red box in his palm.

"Tristan!" Rory said, "you didn't have to do that. The pictures were enough."

"I couldn't help myself. I saw them and I had to get them," Tristan said as she opened the box, revealing a pair of earrings that matched the necklace he got her for her birthday.

"They're gorgeous," Rory said, handing the box back to him so she could take out the earrings she was wearing, replacing them with the new ones, "Will you help me with the necklace?"

"My pleasure," Tristan said, taking the necklace from her, kissing her neck as he fastened the clasp.

"You look good in a suit," Rory said, turning to look at him, "I haven't seen you this dressed up since that dance at Chilton."

"And you are rocking this dress," Tristan said, moving the shrug she was wearing off her shoulder, pushing the strap of her dress down to kiss along her neck and collarbone, "I especially love that it's sleeveless. It makes this a whole lot easier."

"We'll hardly have any moments for you to suck on my collarbone at my grandparents," Rory said, tilting her head to the side to give him better access to her neck, "But if you want to keep doing that until it's time to go, I won't stop you. Just don't leave a mark where anyone can see."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of blemishing this flawless skin," Tristan said, continuing his assault on her neck, moving to her ear and back down to her collarbone.

"Alright kids, that's enough necking, it's time to go," Lorelai said as she knocked on the door to the garage.

"Let's go," Rory giggled as Tristan paused with his lips still on her neck, "We'll never hear the end of it if we're late."

Thirty minutes later they arrived at the Gilmore's, being led into the living room by a maid after removing their coats.

"Merry Christmas Grandma. Merry Christmas Grandpa," Rory said, giving them both a hug when she entered the living room, letting go of Tristan's hand to do so while he shook hands with her grandfather and gave her grandmother a kiss on the cheek.

"It's good to see you again, Richard, Emily," Tristan said. Since they had been staying in the area since before Thanksgiving, they had been to a couple of Friday Night Dinner's. Richard and Emily were excited to hear that Rory was not only dating again, but that she was dating a DuGrey. Even though he had stepped away from the family business, Richard and Emily were happy to see Rory with the grandson of their friends. They were also pleased with how he looked after Rory before she came home.

"So, do you kids have any big plans for New Year's?" Richard asked as they were all seated for dinner.

"We're going to Logan's apartment in the city," Rory said.

"Logan Huntzberger?" Emily asked.

"Uh huh," Rory said.

"I hadn't realized you and he were on speaking terms again," Richard said.

"We ran into each other in D.C. a few months ago," Rory told them, "We talked and cleared the air of everything. I saw him when I was in New York in September and we had dinner with him and his girlfriend a week ago."

"You're all friends now then?" Emily asked, "That seems odd."

"It's actually not, Grandma," Rory said, "I thought it would be, but Logan and I were friends for awhile before we dated so really, it's just like getting back to that."

"And you're okay with this, Tristan?" Richard asked.

"Yeah. Logan's a great guy. I think he's an idiot for letting this one go," Tristan said, taking Rory's hand in his, kissing her palm, "But, his loss is my gain."

"Such a charmer," Rory said.


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18: "Yes, better hide the breakables before Finn gets here,"

* * *

"Come on, Mary, it's time to go," Tristan said, calling her from the living room of their hotel. They were due soon at Logan and Ashlee's for their New Year's Eve party. They had offered Rory and Tristan one of their guestrooms, but Rory declined, saying it was one thing to be friends with her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend, but sleeping in a room next to them where she had the potential chance of hearing them have sex was completely insane, "Come on the car is already downstairs. Though I don't know why Huntzberger wants us there so early."

"I don't know. Probably so we're already there when everyone arrives," Rory said coming into the living room, turning to allow him to put her wrap on her when he held it up, "If we're already in the room when people arrive it may not be so awkward and I won't have a room full of people staring at me at once. If we arrive after all or some people are already there, everyone is going to notice and stare and start asking questions."

"That's actually a really good point. Did Logan tell any of your old friends you were coming?" Tristan asked, placing an arm around her to lead her out of the room towards the elevator.

"No. I asked him not to. I didn't want people to expect me if the time came and I freaked out or something about going," Rory said, "And I also didn't want to field phone calls from everyone when they found out."

"You haven't talked to most of them in over three years," Tristan said, "Would they really call you if they knew you were coming?"

"Oh yeah. Even if I hadn't been a prisoner and had just run into Logan on the street," Rory told him, "They can be a very curious and nosey bunch. Finn would call trying to remember how even got my number in the first place and the girls would pump me for information on you."

"Would Logan really tell them about me?" Tristan asked.

"If he thought it was necessary to convince Steph that he and I are fine with being friends," Rory said, "And if not from Logan, it's bound to have got out already through our grandparents."

"True. I wouldn't be surprised if our grandmother's have been in constant communication planning the wedding of the century," Tristan said as they walked outside towards the waiting car, Frank holding the door open for them.

"Good to see you, Frank," Rory said, "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year to you as well, Miss Gilmore," Frank told her, closing the door after she and Tristan got in.

"You know the driver?" Tristan asked.

"Uh huh. Frank has been driving Logan since he was a kid," Rory said, "Now about that wedding of the century."

"Do you not want to get married someday?" Tristan asked.

"No, I do. I just always imagined something small, most likely in Stars Hollow, the inn maybe," Rory said.

"I can live with that," Tristan said, "Good luck convincing our grandmother's."

"I can have Mom work on them. And besides we have loads of times. We've only been dating a short while and you'd have to get a ring and ask me first for there to be a wedding to plan," Rory said.

"True. I guess I'll have to work on those things for the future," Tristan said.

"The future," Rory said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Our future," Tristan said, kissing the top of her head.

"Our future. I like that," Rory said.

* * *

"Happy New Year, guys," Logan said, opening the door to Rory and Tristan, shaking Tristan's hand and kissing Rory's cheek.

"Happy New Year," Tristan said, "Is there anything you need us to do since we're here before everyone else?"

"Everything is pretty set, but I could use your help moving a couple of things," Logan said.

"Yes, better hide the breakables before Finn gets here," Rory said.

"It was one time," Logan said.

"I loved that vase," Rory said.

"It was hideous," Logan reminded her, "You kept it on the highest shelf so you wouldn't have to look at it everyday."

"I still loved it. It was a gift from my grandmother. I had to have it out in case she ever came over," Rory said.

"You were happy to see that vase go and you know it," Logan said.

"It was a gift. You can't just get rid of gifts," Rory said.

"No, but you can make sure they're in the right spot for a drunken Finn to break them," Logan said, "You know on second thought, maybe we don't need to hide all the breakables. There's a few things around here my mother has given us that I could stand to never see again."

"Logan!" Rory said.

"Kidding, Ace, geeze," Logan said, "Let's go, DuGrey. Ace, Ashlee is in our room. She's dying to show you her outfit for the evening."

"Her outfit?" Rory questioned.

"Oh, yeah. The whole thing is gorgeous. Parts of it really shine," Logan said, smirking at her.

"Ah, yay!" Rory said, grabbing Logan in a hug, whispering in his ear before going off to find Ashlee.

"What was that about?" Tristan asked.

"Ashlee is sporting a fancy new piece of jewelry," Logan told him.

"Would this jewelry happen to be a ring that goes on a certain finger?" Tristan asked.

"Yep," Logan said, not able to hide the smile at how happy he is.

"Congrats, man," Tristan said, "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. I kind of figured you would have already known about it," Logan said.

"No, how would I know?" Tristan asked.

"I told Rory when we all went out to dinner a few weeks ago that I was planning on doing it," Logan said, "I don't know if I was supposed to or not, but I didn't want her to be caught off guard by it after the fact."

"Yeah, I'm not sure the rules on telling someone you've previously proposed to that you're proposing to someone else," Tristan said, "But, I agree, it was right to tell her. She would have been happy for you either way, but likely secretly upset that she wasn't given a heads up about it."

"That was my thought," Logan said, "We're going to wait until midnight to announce it though."

"We'll keep it a secret until then," Tristan said.

"Thanks," Logan said.

* * *

"Ashlee?" Rory asked, knocking on the bedroom door, opening it slightly.

"Come on in," Ashlee said.

"Wow! You look amazing. I love this dress," Rory told her.

"Thanks. I love yours, too," Ashlee said. Both girls had chose, sparkly, knee length dresses for the party. Ashlee's was strapless and bronze in color. Rory had chosen a sleeveless dress that was silver in color.

"People are going to think we went shopping together with the way these sort of match each other in their design," Rory said.

"Well, we'll just have to make that a true statement then," Amy said, "When do you go back to Washington?"

"Whenever we want, really. Neither of us are working so we can stay here as long as we want," Rory said.

"We'll make plans for next week then?" Ashlee suggested.

"Definitely," Rory said, "Now let me see this ring."

"Gorgeous, isn't it?" Ashlee asked, holding her hand out for Rory to see.

"It's incredible," Rory said, looking at the rose gold colored ring with a square halo design of round diamonds and diamonds lining the sides of the ring, "I love the rose gold."

"Yeah, it's a really beautiful ring," Ashlee said, taking the ring off her finger, placing it back in it's box until later when she and Logan would announce their engagement.

"What's wrong?" Rory asked, noticing the frown on Ashlee's face, her brow furrowed in question.

"It's such a beautiful ring and really love it," Ashlee said, "I almost hate to ask it, but I need to know."

"That's not the same ring," Rory told her.

"It's not?" Ashlee asked.

"Nope. That one was entirely white gold or maybe platinum, I think. I'm don't know much about jewelry," Rory said, "It was a beautiful ring from what I remember of it, but no where near the beauty of this one. I'm so happy for you and Logan. You're great together."

"Thanks. I was sure it was different ring. I couldn't see Logan proposing with the same ring twice, but part of it really needed to know it wasn't the same one," Ashlee said.

"Definitely not the same one. I don't even know what happened to it after I gave it back to him," Rory said.

"I never knew you even had it. I thought you said no," Ashlee said.

"When he first asked I told him I needed time to think about it so he gave me the ring to hold on to," Rory said.

"Probably thinking seeing it and trying it on would make the answer for you," Ashlee said.

"Most likely. I opened the box once and tried it on for a few seconds, but it just didn't feel right," Rory told her, "I told him the next day I couldn't marry him and gave him back the ring."

"I never thought to ask him about it when he was first telling me about you," Ashlee said.

"I'll have to ask him. I'm curious," Rory said.

"Me too," Ashlee said, "So, are you ready for this party?"

"Sort of. I'm excited to see everyone, but I'm also really nervous," Rory said, "I haven't seen anyone really since I graduated from college and Logan and I split up. It's sure to be awkward. What if they hate me?"

"I don't think that's possible. How could anyone hate Rory Gilmore," Ashlee said, "I adored you from the moment Logan first described you to me after we met. I knew right then and there that for a guy with a broken heart to still speak so highly of a girl, singing her praises, and following her career, the girl in question had to be something special."

* * *

Within an hour of Rory and Tristan arriving, music was playing and drinks were flowing. A few Ashlee's friends and several of Logan's coworkers had arrived. The group Rory was both excited and anxious to see had yet to make an appearance.

"Alright, ladies and gents, the party can start, the Aussie is here," Finn said, walking into the apartment and heading straight for the bar.

"Hey Colin, Steph," Logan said, greeting them when they followed in behind Finn, "Rosemary."

"Happy New Year, Logan," Rosemary said, greeting him, "I better go keep an eye on him."

"We stashed all the breakables before everyone arrived so it should be okay," Logan said.

"You never know with Finn," Rosemary said.

"Bloody hell!" Finn exclaimed from across the room.

"Finn?" Colin asked, walking towards where Finn had shouted from to see what was going on, "Reporter Girl?"

"Hey Colin," Rory said, stepping away from Finn's tight hold on her to say hello to Colin and the girls.

"Good to see you, Gilmore," Colin said, giving her a big hug, "You look well."

"I am, thank you," Rory said, turning to Stephanie. She had never been really close with Rosemary, but during their years at Yale, Rory and Stephanie had formed a pretty good friendship, but it fizzled out when Rory turned down Logan and left for the campaign trail.

"I should be mad at you for never calling, but I'm too happy to see you alive and well to care," Stephanie said, wrapping her up in a tight hug, tears of joy falling.

"I missed you Steph," Rory told her, wiping away her own tears with one hand as the other was still wrapped around Stephanie.

"We are never going this long without seeing or talking to each other again, alright," Stephanie said, "I don't care what the guys think or if it's awkward. I'm not losing you again, RG."

"You won't, I promise," Rory told her.

"Are you aware there is a hotter than Logan, blonde smirking at you right now?" Stephanie whispered into Rory's ear.

"Ah, yes. That would be Tristan, my boyfriend," Rory told her, stepping back from her to address him, "Tris?"

"Mary," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing the side of her head.

"Mary?" Stephanie questioned.

"Long story. I'll explain later," Rory said, "So, this is my boyfriend, Tristan DuGrey. Tris, this is Stephanie, Colin, Rosemary, and Finn."

"DuGrey?" Colin questioned, "You're one of us."

"I am," Tristan said, shaking his hand and Finn's.

"How did you two meet?" Stephanie asked.

"We went to high school together," Rory told her.

"Did you keep in touch or just get reacquainted recently?" Stephanie asked.

"Reacquainted would be an interesting way to put it," Rory said.

"Why's that?" Colin asked.

"Tristan is a soldier," Rory told them, "Actually, he's my soldier."

"So, the articles that said you were rescued by American troops?" Rosemary asked.

"Tristan was the one who found me," Rory said.

"Well, me and a team," Tristan said, "A bunch of us went in."

"Yeah, but you were the one to find me," Rory said, "And he stayed with me in the hospital until I was well enough to come home."

"Thank you for looking out for our girl," Stephanie told him, "It's good have you back, RG."

"How did you end up here, though?" Colin asked, "In New York. At Logan's."

"I had a rough time of it when I came home. My mom stayed with me for a while, but knowing I needed to try and be on own I sent her home," Rory said, "It didn't go so well and during one of my lowest points, I ran into Logan, literally."

"You were living in D.C, right?" Colin asked.

"Yeah. Still do, technically, though we haven't been there since before Thanksgiving," Rory said.

"You were in D.C. over the summer, right?" Colin asked Logan as he and Ashlee joined them now, "You were there in July checking out that paper. You never mentioned you ran into Rory."

"I asked him not to," Rory told him, "I wasn't in a good place. I hated Logan seeing me like he did, but I didn't really have much choice."

"How's that?" Stephanie asked.

"I ran into her at a bar, literally," Logan said, "We talked for all but a couple minutes and she passed out in my arms. Thankfully she had been to that same bar a few times and it was near her apartment. The bartender had kept an eye on her and knew the building she lived in."

"So, he got me home and I woke up the next morning to find him hanging out in my kitchen with a bag of tacos and coffee," Rory said.

"Classic Gilmore hangover food, nice," Finn said.

"We talked and had lunch before I left town, but didn't see or talk to each other again until she showed up at the office in September," Logan said.

"So, you're friends now? All of you?" Colin asked.

"Yeah, we are," Ashlee said.

"And that doesn't seem weird to anyone?" Stephanie asked.

"No. Yeah, there's definitely history and likely memories are going to up from time to time, but we're all good," Tristan said, "Rory and I are good and I actually like Logan. He's a cool guy."

"Agreed. There's no way to truly ignore the past Rory and Logan share. They were together a long time and have a lot of good memories," Ashlee said, "But, like Tristan said, we're good, we're happy. And Rory is pretty amazing. In a lot a ways I owe her."

"For what?" Rory asked.

"For your part in making Logan the amazing man he is today," Ashlee said, "From what I've heard from him and Honor, he grew up a lot in that time and I'm sure a lot of that was because of you."

"Well, thank you. I don't feel I really did anything. Logan got where he his because he wanted to and worked for it," Rory said.

* * *

Just before midnight, Rory saw Ashlee go to the bedroom to retrieve the ring box, smiling when she saw her slip the ring onto her finger before joining Logan at the front of the room so they could announce their engagement. Quieting the crowd with a tap on the side of his champagne glass, Logan thanked everyone for coming, wishing everyone well for the new year.

"And before we ring in the new year, I have one more announcement," Logan said, wrapping his arm around Ashlee, pulling her close to him, "I will not be starting out the new year with a girlfriend by my side, but rather a fiancee. Earlier this evening, I asked Ashlee to marry me and she said yes."

"I love you, Logan Huntzberger," Ashlee said, placing her left hand on cheek to kiss him as their friends when they saw the ring as Logan's words sunk in.

"And I love you, soon to be Mrs. Huntzberger," Logan said, kissing her before moving to accept the congratulations of his friends before the countdown began.

"10, 9, 8, 7…"

"Are you happy, Mary?" Tristan asked, watching her as she smiled watching Logan and Ashlee move throughout the room so each of their friends could congratulate them and see her ring.

"I'm with you, how could I not be," Rory said, kissing his cheek, "I'm the happiest I've ever been."

"6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...Happy New Year!"

"Happy New Year, Tris," Rory said, leaning up to kiss him.

"Happy New Year, Rory," Tristan said, wrapping his arms around her back, holding her to him, her feet lifting slightly off the ground.


	20. Chapter 19

**AN:** I have been the absolute worst with updates lately and I hate when writers do that. I know what I want this story to be and where I want it to go, but I've found myself struggling a bit on plot and such to get to that point. Hence, the time jump from the previous chapter to this one. Happy reading!

* * *

Chapter 19: "It was a private beach, Rory. The only people around were you and me,"

* * *

"Mary, are you about ready?" Tristan asked, calling her from their bedroom where he was zipping back up their bags after double checking he had packed everything he wanted and they were going to need for their trip.

"Yes, I think so," Rory said, meeting him at the top of the stairs with a bag full of books as she came down from her attic library before going downstairs to leave. As much as Rory loved her Washington, D.C. apartment and as happy as Tristan was to stay there with her, they wanted to find a place together that would be theirs. They weren't in a hurry to move, but when they found their Hartford home, they immediately fell in love and had to have it.

They had stayed in Stars Hollow another week after New Year's before returning to Washington so Rory could focus on writing her book. During that week they spent a lot of time around Hartford, visiting many of Tristan's favorite places. On a walk through a park Tristan would go to sometimes when he needed to get away because his parents were fighting or his Dad was giving him a hard time, they came across a realtor putting a for sale sign up in front of a house and decided to ask if they could see it. They had decided they weren't going to actively look for a new place or where they might consider moving, but walking by the house at that moment felt like fate.

They took one tour of the four bedroom home with four full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, large kitchen and dining area, and a basement large enough to add walls to turn part of it into a dark room while keeping the rest a theater for when Rory and Lorelai wanted to have movie nights and had to have it. What sold Rory was the attic. The moment she walked in, Tristan knew this house would be their home. Her eyes lit up at the vaulted ceiling and built in shelves with a ladder leaning against them.

"It's like a fairy tale," Rory had said, running her fingers over the ladder, "I've always wanted my own library of books with a ladder to climb to get them like Belle."

"If it's Belle's library you want, than it's Belle's library you shall have," Tristan had said when they stood together in the library. A week after viewing the house, their offer had been accepted and they were packing up their apartment in Washington, D.C. and moving to Hartford.

* * *

"I can carry my books, Tris," Rory said as she followed him out to the car, "I know it's a bit heavy."

"A bit. Did you leave any books upstairs?" he asked, putting her bag of books in the trunk with their other bags.

"I didn't pack that many," Rory said as they got in the car, "but since it was all you would let me pack myself I didn't want to leave anything out. I need to have the right books for all contingencies."

"All contingencies?" Tristan asked, "It's not like forgetting to pack an umbrella in case you get caught in the rain, they're books."

"What if I don't like where we're going and I get bored? I need to have enough books to fill my time for however long we'll be gone," Rory said.

"You going to love it, trust me," Tristan said, taking hold of her hand.

"Okay, but when I do have free time to read I won't know what I'll be in the mood for. If we go to a museum I may hit information overload and then I won't feel like reading a biography so I'll need a novel," she told him, "And then if we go to a play or concert or something, I may not be in the mood to be entertained when I'm reading and will want a biography."

"You're crazy you know that," Tristan said, kissing the back of her hand, "But I wish you'd just let go and enjoy yourself. You've worked hard for months to get your book finished. It's in Jess' hands down so just relax and let me surprise you."

"Ugh, there's that word again," Rory said.

"Come on. Can't a boyfriend surprise his girlfriend without it being a big deal?" he asked.

"A boyfriend, no. You, yes," Rory said, raising her eyebrows at him, "You always have an ulterior motive. Remember Valentine's Day?"

"That was fun and you enjoyed yourself, too," Tristan reminded her.

"Eventually," Rory reminded him, "I didn't jump right in like you did."

After spending the previous couple of weeks packing, moving, and then unpacking, Tristan surprised Rory with a trip for Valentine's Day. Wanting a quiet place and something away from the snow and cold they dealt with while moving, they spent the holiday in California. They spent a couple days in Northern California visiting a winery, before moving to the beach house Tristan rented for them.

"It was a private beach, Rory. The only people around were you and me," he reminded her.

"I know and I would have eventually got there. You didn't have to throw me in," Rory said.

"I'm sorry, but again, like I said, you had fun," he said, smiling at the memory, "You know we should really put in a hot tub or pool at the house. We could repeat some of those vacation memories."

"We can put them in, but I'm keeping my clothes on," Rory said, "You going to have to just deal with the memory because me skinny dipping was a one time thing."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Tristan said, giving her hand a squeeze, kissing her knuckles, "I persuaded you to remove your clothes in the water once, Mary, I'm sure I could do it again."

"Dream on, Soldier Boy. Never going to happen," Rory said.

* * *

"We're taking a private plane?" Rory questioned when she noticed they were at a small airstrip she had never been to before instead of the normal, larger airport she had flown in and out of several times, "We've never taken a private plane before. Who does it belong to?"

"My grandfather. He found it more suitable to have a plane of his own whenever he wanted to go visit family in France," Tristan said, "He's upgraded a few times over the years."

"And we're taking this because?" Rory asked.

"I figured it would make our trip a little more special if it's just us," Tristan said.

"And with a private plane there's no boarding passes so I don't know where we are going," Rory said.

"That too," he said.

"See, ulterior motive," she told him.

"Maybe, but a private plane does have it's advantages," Tristan said, getting out of the car and moving around to her side to open her door.

"Like what?" she asked, closing her door and joining him as he took their bags from the trunk and handed them to one of the guys from the airfield to load onto the plane.

"Well, if we needed to leave early or want to go somewhere else, this plane will be ready and waiting for us at the airport," Tristan said, "We can also stay longer if want to, as well. With a private plane we don't have to worry about changing flights or stick to a set schedule."

"You're a DuGrey and I'm a Gilmore, we could probably do all that anyway," Rory said.

"True, but this way is easier," he said.

"I guess. So what else makes this fancy thing better than just flying first class?" Rory asked.

"Hmm, it has it's own bedroom," he whispered into her ear, giving it a bite, wrapping his arms around her as they walked onto the plane.

"No way," she said, pulling away from him, "You think I'm going to join the mile high club with you in a bedroom your grandparents sleep in? You're insane."

"Rory, my grandparents have never used this plane," Tristan told her, pulling her with him onto the couch along the side of the plane, "He upgraded to this one about five years ago, but he's never actually used it himself."

"He hasn't?" Rory asked.

"No, he hasn't really been up to traveling much, but he wanted to have it anyway," Tristan said.

"Has anyone else used it?" she asked.

"I think my Dad has once or twice for last minute business trips and I've used it a couple of times when I would come up to visit when I was on leave," Tristan said.

"And no one has used that bedroom?" Rory asked.

"Other than me, no" Tristan said, "I've slept in there a few times, but I don't believe my Dad has. Even so, I had a brand new mattress and sheets put on last week."

"That desperate to get me in there, huh," Rory said.

"Only if you want to," Tristan said, kissing her cheek, "If you just want to stay out here or use the bedroom strictly to sleep, that's what we'll do."

"I'll think about it," Rory told him, "Let's get through take off and go from there."

* * *

A few hour later, Tristan was waking Rory from her nap as they laid together in the bedroom. The plane would be landing soon and they needed to be in their seats.

"Sleep well?" he asked.

"Not bad," she replied, rubbing her eyes as she adjusted to the light, "Are we almost there?"

"Yep, we should be beginning our descent soon so we need to get back to our seats," he told her.

"Okay. Let me clean up a bit and I'll be out there," Rory said, removing the blanket from her half clothed body and slipping on the robe he had set out for her.

"Don't even think about opening the shades," Tristan said as Rory came out and walked towards her seat, stopping to look out the window so she could try and see where they were.

"You're no fun," she said, sitting down in the seat next to him, buckling her seat belt.

"That's not what you thought an hour ago," he said, whispering the words in her ear before kissing her cheek.

"Tris! I was hoping you'd be more kind to me now and tell me where we are," she said.

"Nope. You still don't get to know. Not until we're on the ground and outside our home for the duration of our stay," he said.

"And how is that going to happen?" Rory asked, "I keep my eyes closed as I walk down the stairs? Have you seen how uncoordinated I can be? I'll fall face first the second I try and take a step."

"Eyes closed, no, but I was thinking a blindfold," Tristan said, "And don't worry, I'm not going to let you fall."

"Fine, but this better be good DuGrey," she said taking the blindfold he handed to her, putting it on and taking hold of his hand as she felt the plane begin its descent.

* * *

"So, was it worth the secrecy?" Tristan asked after removing Rory's blindfold. The two of them were standing in front of the beach house she had stayed in when she came to North Carolina in September and so far she had been quiet, "Rory?"

"You rented it for the week?" Rory asked.

"Not quite. I bought it," he told her, placing a key in her hand and kissing her cheek, "Welcome home, Mary."

"You bought this house. You actually bought it. Why?" Rory asked as they walked through, dropping their bags off in the master bedroom before going back outside to the porch swing.

"You love it here and so do I. You love this house. You really came alive here again," Tristan told her, "And I thought what better place to spend our six month anniversary then in a beach house of our own."

"Six months? It has not been that long," Rory said, "Has it?"

"Since I came to Washington for your birthday and we decided to be together," Tristan reminded her, "It will be six months on the eighth."

"The eighth," Rory said, closing her eyes as the fast approaching date registered in her mind, "I, I hadn't realized it was. Tris, I'm sorry, I…I can't believe I forgot our anniversary."

"It's fine. The eighth is a big day for you. I was hoping you'd remember our anniversary and forget the rest, but…" he began, "I'm going to do everything I can to make this trip and that day an amazing one."

"Can you make me forget?" she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I wish I could, but it's part of you. That day and the weeks and months that have followed have made you into a stronger person. You'll get through this anniversary and the rest will be easier," he told her, kissing the top of her head.

"I hope so," she said, wrapping her arms around him, holding him close to her as her tears began to fall.

"I've got you. Let it out. I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this together," he said.

* * *

The morning of April eighth, Tristan woke up alone. Rory's side of the bed was cold and a note was on her pillow. After having a quick shower and getting coffee and doughnuts from the place around the corner that Rory loved, he made his way down to the beach to join her.

"How long have you been out here?" Tristan asked, sitting down next to her on the blanket she had set out, handing her a cup of coffee and placing the doughnuts down in front of them.

"A couple hours," she said, laying her head on his shoulder as he wrapped an arm around her.

"A couple hours? It's barely seven o'clock in the morning," Tristan said, "You've been out here since five?"

"Roughly. I sat on the porch awhile before walking down here. The beach doesn't officially open for another hour yet, but I talked a guard into letting me sit here," Rory said, "I also mentioned you would be showing up at some point."

"That explains why no one stopped me when I went through the gate," Tristan said, "Did you have a nightmare? You could have woken me up."

"No. To have a nightmare I would have had to sleep," Rory said, setting her now empty coffee cup down and grabbing a doughnut from the box, "I just couldn't turn my mind off. I had blocked out that this day was coming and now that it's here."

"It's going to be okay. Whatever you want, whatever you need me to do, we'll do it," Tristan said, "If you want to talk about it we will. If you want to go back to bed and try and sleep the day away, we'll do that. Whatever you think we'll make it easier for you."

"I don't think there's an easy answer to that. I don't think anything will make it easier," Rory said, her voice breaking as she began to cry, "No matter what we do, I'm always going to remember today as the day I was taken. The last good day the others had before they died."

"I know. I know, Ror, I know," Tristan said, setting down his coffee cup and pulling her tight against his chest, wrapping both arms around her, "You'll get through this. It's going to take time, but one day this day will be easier."

"I hope so," Rory said, leaning back to wipe away her tears, "As much as this anniversary sucks it is still the six month anniversary of us being together and in a couple weeks we have another good anniversary to look forward to."

"What's that?" Tristan asked, kissing the tears that were still falling against her cheeks.

"The day I was saved. It was a good day because I was finally rescued, but it was also the day you came back into my life," Rory said, kissing him, "That's the best anniversary I could ask for."

"Me too. We'll make it a good one," he said, kissing her, "I love you so much, Rory. Those two weeks after hearing what happened, not knowing where you were or what was happening to you were the scariest one's of my life. Whether I was in it or not, I couldn't imagine a world without you in it. I am so glad we found you and that you've let me love you and be with you. These six months have been the best of my life."

"I wished and dreamed every night that some big strong soldier would come through the door and rescue me. Towards the end I just wished for it all to end, all the fear, the pain. I never dreamed my big strong soldier would be you," Rory told him, "I love you so much, Tris. Thank you for being my soldier."

"Always. I'll always be your soldier, Rory. For as long as you'll have me," Tristan said.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: "Don't age us up too quick. One step at a time,"

* * *

"Slow down, Mary. The park doesn't even open for another two hours," Tristan said as Rory took hold of his hand, dragging him away from the car parked outside Universal's Islands of Adventure. They had spent just over a week in North Carolina before arriving in Orlando the previous night.

"Oh please. The moment you mentioned us coming here the other day I made a few calls so we could get in early," Rory told him. They had been up since six. Rory first dragged him out of bed and to a diner for breakfast before insisting they get to the park early, "I've never been to any of the Disney parks or Universal. I'd been dreaming of coming since they first announced the Wizarding World. I had planned to grab Mom and come down here for a vacation when it opened last year, but…"

"But, that didn't happen," Tristan said.

"Nope," Rory said, "But, on the plus side now I get to experience it all with you. My very own brave Gryffindor Lion."

"You think I'd be in Gryffindor?" Tristan asked.

"Absolutely," Rory told him, "It is the place where 'dwell the brave at heart.' Gryffindor's are daring and chivalrous, just like you, my own personal hero soldier."

"Thank you. Well, if I'm in Gryffindor, than you my dear are definitely in Ravenclaw," Tristan said.

"Well, duh," Rory said, "It's the place for 'those of wit and learning.'"

"And nobody enjoys learning more than you," Tristan said, "Or is as witty. Except maybe, Lorelai."

"True, though have not been successful at getting her to read the books yet," Rory said, "She watched all the movies so far with me except the last one. She said she wants to wait until the second half comes out and watch them both together. She's not interested in seeing half of story and having to wait for the rest."

"Makes sense I guess," Tristan said, "Do I get to join you since we saw the first part together last November?"

"If you'd like. Though Mom and I plan to marathon all of them before going to see it," Rory told him, "You up for that?"

"A classic Gilmore movie marathon?" Tristan asked, "Count me in."

"Great. I'll be sure to tell Mom to plan for more snacks," Rory said.

"I'm one more person, how many more snacks could you need?" Tristan asked.

"You've never seen me and Mom during one of our movie nights," Rory said, "If you think we pack it away on an average day, you won't believe the amount we can consume when we watch a movie or two or six."

"I'm going to be in for an interesting night," Tristan said.

"Very," Rory said, giving his arm a tug so he would walk faster, "Now, let's go. The Wizarding World awaits."

* * *

After going through the Port of Entry, being greeted by several staff members, Rory quickly made her way through Seuss Landing and The Lost Continent, arriving in Hogsmeade, stopping just outside Ollivanders.

"You're on a mission today, I see," Tristan said, opening the door to Ollivanders to let Rory walk in ahead of him.

"Yep. I have specific things I want to do while we're here," she told him, "Starting with a wand. You can't not get a wand."

"I suppose not," he said, walking in behind her.

"Oh, my," Rory said, stopping and turning in a circle, taking in the rows and rows of small rectangular boxes.

"Which one will you choose?" Tristan asked.

"The wand chooses the wizard, remember," Rory told him, smiling at the idea. She had been through so much in the past year, had so many nightmares and sleepless nights, being in a place where she could be a kid again was just what she needed.

* * *

Once Rory and Tristan had been given their wands, Rory a reed wand that was fifteen and one-eighth inches, said to be associated with scholarship and knowledge and meant for people good with words. Tristan received a rowan wand, sixteen and a half inches, made for people who like to help others as the wood is admired for its protection powers.

"Okay, so let's check out the castle and the other rides," Rory said, "Then I want to visit the owl post and send myself a post card."

"You went to send yourself something from the owl post?" Tristan asked.

"And Mom and few others, too," Rory said, "But, it will be nice to go home and have mail from Hogwarts awaiting me."

"Alright, let's go ride some rides," Tristan said, placing an arm around her waist as they walked through the rest of Hogsmeade towards the castle for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

* * *

"That Butterbeer was delicious, but I'm ready for some food," Rory said, walking with Tristan through Jurassic Park, entering Toon Lagoon, searching out her goal lunch spot.

"Seriously? Of all the burger options available you're choosing a sandwich shop?" Tristan asked.

"Burgers I can get anywhere. I'm sure they're good here, but I'm a Gilmore," Rory said, "I simply cannot ignore the chance to have a Dagwood."

"Rory that sandwich probably weighs more than you do," Tristan said.

"And I intend to eat it all," Rory said, taking a place in line.

"I don't know where you put it all," Tristan said a while later when they were throwing away their trash. He had chosen a Reuben dog and was barely able to finish the entire footlong hot dog he had been served while Rory finished her Dagwood, chips, and a side of potato salad easily.

"I learned a long time ago not to question the Lorelai Paradox. I just simply eat my food and enjoy the enigma that is my digestive system," Rory told him.

"Clearly. Man, I can't imagine what it will be like when you're eating for two," he said, smiling at the thought, "Wait, you're not eating for two now are you?"

"No," Rory told him, "What would you think if I was?"

"I think I would be the happiest I've ever been," Tristan told her, "It would be sooner than I expected for us, but I would be so happy. I can't wait for the day when we're experiencing all this with our children or our grandchildren."

"Don't age us up too quick. One step at a time," Rory said, "Kids with you will be great."

"Yeah?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, though as old fashioned as it sounds, I was thinking we'd wait until after we're married and maybe had some time to just be us before we have little feet running around," Rory said.

"I'm ready whenever you are," Tristan said, stopping their walk through Marvel Super Hero Island, placing his hands on her waist, giving her a deep kiss, "I'm ready for all of it. Say the word and I'll put that ring on your finger."

"You say that like you have one already," Rory said.

"Maybe I do," Tristan told her, clasping her hand with his, continuing their walk through the park, back towards Seuss Landing so they could ride the Caro-Seuss-el.

* * *

After going back through every area of the park, being sure to hit every ride, Rory and Tristan went back to their hotel for the night. The next day they went back, spending their day at Universal Studios before going to Hard Rock Cafe just outside the park for dinner. They rested at their hotel the next day, spending time in their room and in the pool.

"One day we need to visit all these countries together for real," Rory said, biting into a French pastry as they walked through Epcot. They had both traveled the world, for work, for fun, alone and with other people, but so far hadn't done much traveling together beyond the east coast.

"Definitely. I'd love to show you the world," Tristan said, enjoying the poutine he got that Rory had refused to try, stating unless they were on their own or covered in chili she wanted nothing to do with those fries.

They finished their day at Epcot after exploring every country and taking several rides on Test Track by enjoying IllumiNations, Rory telling Tristan she wanted to see it again before they went back home because it was just so beautiful. The day following their visit to Epcot they went to Animal Kingdom, both loving the Kilimanjaro Safari.

"Can we start with the Rock 'n' Roller coaster?" Rory asked, walking down Hollywood Boulevard with Tristan as they entered Hollywood Studios the following day.

"Sure, as long as we can do Tower of Terror after," Tristan said.

"Absolutely," Rory said.

After enough trips to get Aerosmith stuck in their heads, they left the roller coaster in favor of the Tower of Terror, riding it half a dozen times before stopping for lunch. They saw the Beauty and the Beast live show after lunch and then went on the Great Movie Ride where Rory tested her footprints against several celebrities outside the Grauman's Chinese Theater replica. For dinner they enjoyed the offerings at The Brown Derby before going back to Sunset Boulevard to see Fantasmic!.

* * *

"So, last day," Tristan said, walking through the entrance of Magic Kingdom with his arm around Rory.

"Yeah, it's sad," Rory said, "I don't want this vacation to end."

"Have to get back to reality sometime," Tristan told her.

"True, so where to first?" Rory asked.

"Why don't we skip Main Street, USA for now. We can start in Tomorrowland and work our way back around," Tristan suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Rory said, thinking over what she wanted to ride first as they walked towards their destination.

After visiting all the other areas of the park, enjoying ride after ride and stopping for nachos at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Cafe in Frontierland, they went to Cinderella's Castle before exiting the park back through Main Street USA.

"It's even more beautiful than I imagined," Rory said as they stood in front of the ivory and blue castle.

"It is pretty incredible," Tristan said.

"Incredible? It's magnificent," Rory said, "I used to watch shows and movies growing up and they would visit here and all these beautiful moments would happen here with this castle as the backdrop. I used to just dream of the chance to seeing it. It was always a someday. Either when we had more money, when I got older. Everything this trip has always been just dreams before now."

"Making your dreams come true is part of my job," Tristan told her, "I'm going to do my damnedest to make everyone of them a reality."

"You're amazing, you know that?" Rory asked, laying her hand on his cheek, giving him a kiss, "All my dreams have already come true just by having you in my life."

"That was incredibly cheesy Gilmore, but I have to agree," Tristan told her, "Being with you is my dream come true, too."

"I love you, Tristan," she told him.

"I love you, too, Mary," he said.

* * *

 **AN:** Once again I had the idea for this and started writing it a while ago, but just never worked on it. In my time zone I am just a couple hours past having this post on July 31st so it's almost perfect that it took this long. Happy Birthday, Harry! I have been to Orlando a few times. I've only been to Magic Kingdom once and I was a baby so my personal knowledge of it is non-existent. I was only ever at Universal Studios at night and both there and Islands of Adventured way before Wizarding World so everything I wrote was taken from googling information and studying the park maps, trying to be sure I didn't include anything that was added after the time Rory and Tristan are visiting which is 2011.

I've said it before, but I do hate how terrible I've become at updating. Real life has unfortunately got in the way. My mother has been unable to drive since February, so over the past several months if I'm not working I'm running around doing one thing or another for her and just don't have the great amount of time or energy I'd like to devote to getting a good chapter out once I'm home. I have ideas and make notes of things I want all the time, but full chapters just are not coming to me as easily as I'd like them to. I'm thinking of doing another short time jump in the next chapter. With them celebrating their six month anniversary it's now April so I'm thinking of jumping ahead another couple of months. We don't have a birthday for Tristan so I'm going to use Chad Michael Murray's birthday of August 24th and I will be jumping to that. Happy reading!


	22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: "Oh, well if it makes you feel any better, I threw up that night, too,"

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Tristan," Rory whispered into her boyfriend's ear as he lay in bed.

"Hmm, something smells, surprisingly good," Tristan said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he sat up, smiling as he saw Rory standing next to the bed, a breakfast tray in hand, wearing one of his old t-shirts from military school that just barely reached the middle of her thighs, "Damn, Happy Birthday, indeed."

"I made you breakfast," Rory said, setting the tray on his lap as she sat down next to him, picking up a strawberry off the plate, bringing it to her lips to bite, offering him the rest.

"Mmm, tastes better off you," Tristan said, kissing her lips, licking his own as he tasted the juice from the strawberry that lingered on her lips.

"It took a few batches, but I think I got them right," Rory said, gesturing to the waffles on his plate.

"Only you could burn frozen waffles so easily," Tristan said with a laugh as he cut into the stack of waffles on his plate, spearing a piece with his fork and placing it in his mouth, "These aren't frozen."

"Nope. I asked Sookie for a recipe and I got up early to make them from scratch," Rory said, "I wanted everything to be perfect for you first birthday off duty and back in the states."

"As long as I'm with you, it will be perfect," Tristan said, kissing her, "But thank you for these. They're delicious."

"You taste like syrup," Rory said, licking her lips before he offered her a bite.

"I would have been happy with frozen waffles or a bowl of cereal even as long as you served it to me in that," Tristan said, eyeing her legs, completely exposed as the end of the shirt rode up her thighs.

"I've never seen it before. I found it at the back of the closet when I was hiding your birthday present," Rory said, "It looked comfy so I stuck it in with my clothes."

"I haven't worn it in years I don't recall how comfortable it is, but damn if you don't look better in it than I ever did," he told her.

"Well, good. I'm glad you like it," Rory said with a smile, "I was planning on keeping it."

"Please do and feel free to look through my things for any other shirts I'm sure you'll look better in than me," he said.

"I might just do that," she said, "starting with your Chilton tie."

"Anything else?" he asked.

"No, just the tie," Rory whispered into his ear, before quickly getting off the bed, "I'll be in the shower if you need me."

"If I need you? Hell, I'll be lucky to stand up the way I feel right now," Tristan said, setting the tray to the side to follow her, "I hope you don't have any plans for us soon, I'm not rushing this shower."

* * *

Once they got dressed, Rory and Tristan had just enough time to make it to Rory's first planned location for the day. Earlier in the week she had called up Madeline and Louise asking them for some of the places they and others went to during their time at Chilton. Louise had mentioned an Italian restaurant that a lot of guys would take their dates to try and impress them.

"We're eating lunch here?" Tristan asked as they walked up the sidewalk to Salute, having parked a little farther down the block.

"Yeah, is this okay?" Rory asked.

"I haven't been here since...well, it's been a long time," he said, pulling the door open for her, letting her walk in first.

Once they were seated and began looking over the menu, Rory couldn't help but notice Tristan seemed uneasy being in this particularly restaurant, though she had no idea why. They had never been before and he had never suggested it when they ate out.

"Tris? Are you okay? We don't have to stay if you don't like it here," Rory said.

"I'm fine, just memories," he told her.

"They can't be good with that face you made before we walked in," Rory said, "So tell me. Was the food bad or something when you were here before?"

"I've never eaten anything here before," Tristan said, taking a sip of his glass of ice water.

"But you said…" Rory began.

"I've been here, but I've never actually sat down and had a meal here," he told her.

"I don't understand," she said.

"I made a reservation here once. I had everything planned. The whole night was going to be perfect," he began, "I was going to bring her here to dinner, take her to see her favorite singer, then to coffee shop after to fuel her addiction."

"Oh, Tris," Rory said.

"And as we were finishing our dessert we ordered to share with our coffee I was going to tell her how I felt, how I really felt," Tristan said, "Not what she thought I was feeling, what she thought I wanted, but it didn't happen. She got back together with her boyfriend instead."

"Tris, I. I didn't…" Rory said.

"So, instead of having dinner here, going to the concert, and going out for coffee, I sat on the bench across the street and watched the time of my reservation come and go," he said.

"I had no idea," Rory said, "If I had known this was where...do you want to go?"

"No. It sucks reliving that memory, but I'm passed it now. We're here, together," he said, reaching across the table, taking her hand in his.

"Let's replace that memory with a new one," Rory told him, "We'll make this birthday the best recreation of what that date should have been that we can."

"I'd like that," Tristan said, pulling her hand towards him, kissing her knuckles.

* * *

After a lunch of the restaurants 'soon to be famous' garlic cheese bread and shared dishes of chicken parmigiana and fettuccine with clams, Rory and Tristan continued on with their day with a walk in a local park. Madeline had mentioned to her it was a place she went to, to make out with a lot of her boyfriends, but on a drive past it Rory loved the look it. The fountain was beautiful and she was excited they had a carousel.

"Aren't we a little too old for this? Tristan asked, climbing onto a horse next to Rory.

"You're never too old for a carousel ride," Rory said, "It's fun and with the music and the lots, it could be really romantic at night."

"You know I never thought of that. We'll have to come back in the evening sometime," he said, "Maybe see if we can talk someone into letting us ride it alone."

"Tristan DuGrey! Are you suggesting we do some very adult things on a children's ride?" Rory asked.

"Maybe," he said, "You're the one who said it could be romantic."

"Romantic, not dirty," Rory said with a laugh.

"Dirty can be romantic," Tristan said, giving her a smirk as the carousel began to spin.

"We'll see," Rory told him, reaching out to take his hand, holding it in hers as they enjoyed the ride.

* * *

After walking through the park and taking several rides on the carousel, Rory insisted it was time to get home so they could get ready for her evening plans for Tristan's birthday.

"This is some outfit you picked out for me," Tristan said, pulling the shirt she had picked out for him over his head. It wasn't something he remembered owning currently, but was similar to a lot of things he wore outside of school in high school, "Do I have to wear the necklace, too?"

"Of course, it completes the ensemble," Rory told him.

"It's made of puka shells," he said.

"That didn't stop boys your age ten years ago," she said.

"And I thought they looked ridiculous than."

"Too bad. You're wearing the outfit I picked for you. The entire outfit."

"Okay, if I'm going out dressed like I'm sixteen again, what are you wearing?"

"Go have a seat in the living room and I'll be out in a minute."

A few minutes later, Tristan looked up his phone when he heard Rory's footsteps. She had changed into a short denim skirt with fishnet stockings underneath and a button up plaid shirt. She had also strung a scarf through the belt loops of the skirt and let it hang off to the side. To complete the outfit she had on some platform tennis shoes. She had left her hair down and straight, pushed back with a simple headband.

"Okay, so there's definitely a theme to this evening," Tristan said, getting up from the couch and walking towards her, running his fingers through her hair, pushing a few strands behind her ear, "I like your hair like this. It reminds of the first time I saw you."

"Kind of the idea," Rory said, pulling an envelope out of the back pocket of her skirt, handing it to him.

"Concert tickets," he said, pulling the small pieces of paper out of the envelope, "So who are we...seriously? It's been sold out for months. How?"

"I called in a couple of favors," Rory said, "When I first saw it advertised I wanted to say something, but I wasn't sure how you would feel about it."

"I tried to get tickets the day they went on sale," Tristan said, putting the tickets back in the envelope, "I was going to surprise you with them, but they sold out before I could get anything. What favors did you have to call in to get front row tickets to PJ Harvey?"

"Well, not really favors per se. I just called someone and that someone called someone and the tickets were on their way," Rory said.

"Those Huntzbergers do have some connections," Tristan said with a laugh.

"That, they do," Rory said.

"So, we're really doing this? We're going to PJ Harvey?" Tristan said.

"Yep. It will be just like it could have been when we were sixteen," Rory said, "I even acquired a special car, just for the occasion."

"No way?" Tristan asked, grabbing her hand and racing out the door, pausing briefly before quickly walking towards the black camaro that was now sitting in their driveway, "Wow, it's just like the one I drove in high school, except now I get to take my girl for a ride in it. Man, I miss that car. My dad took it away when they sent me to military school and I could never find another one like it to buy again."

"It's not just like the one you drove in high school, Tris, it's the exact one," Rory told him.

"What? Is that possible?" he asked.

"I talked to your grandfather and your mother. I got some information about it and I went looking," Rory said, "It took a lot of looking, but I finally found the exact one."

"It's really the same car?"

"Take a look inside."

"Okay, if it's the same car than it will have the spot where I…"

"Burned a hole in the passenger seat trying to hide a cigarette so your mother wouldn't catch you smoking?"

"Yeah and the stain under the floor mat that try as hard as I could, just wouldn't come out."

"Must have been some party," Rory said.

"Part of it was," Tristan said, smiling at the one, brief good memory of that night, "It was the night Summer broke up with me. I got really drunk and had to have Bowman drive me home. I threw up the entire way to his house."

"Oh, well if it makes you feel any better, I threw up that night, too," Rory told him, "Not from alcohol, but I'm pretty sure I ate my weight in pizza and ice cream when I got home."

"A little. I'm still not a fan of the fact that it took kissing me to get you to wallow," Tristan said, wrapping his arms around her waist, giving her a quick kiss, "We've certainly come a long way since then."

"Definitely. Now there's nowhere else I'd rather be than with you, in your arms," Rory said, tilting her head up to kiss him, "I love you, Tristan DuGrey."

"I love you, Rory Gilmore," Tristan said.

"We better get going," Rory said, taking a glance at Tristan's watch, "We have dinner reservations before the concert"

"And where are we going?" he asked, holding her door open for her to get in.

"That, my dear boyfriend is a surprise," she said.

"I'm driving, Rory," he reminded her, "I'm going to to need a destination."

"New York," she told him, causing him to chuckle, "Head that way towards the venue and I'll guide you once we get to the city."

* * *

 **AN:** Outside of Gilmore Girls I've not heard much PJ Harvey so I decided to end the chapter there with them going off to the concert they should have gone to back in high school. Also, I wanted to let you all know that I will be leaving on vacation Sunday afternoon and will be gone for twelve days. My vacation is a big part of my lack of updating as I've been working a lot to make up for the time I'll be off (pto only goes so far) and saving for the trip itself. I've also been spending a lot of time planning and researching, but now finally it's almost here. Sunday afternoon, I am getting in a car with my best friend and we are road tripping to Wilmington, NC! If you're a One Tree Hill fan like me, you know how excited I am for this! I've never been and I haven't been on a vacation in fifteen years so I'm looking forward to this trip! (And seeing Tristan DuGrey himself, Mr. Chad Michael Murray again!) I hope you enjoyed the chapter, everyone! I hope to have a new one for you when I get back. (Who knows, I've written about Wilmington in this story, maybe I'll be inspired when I'm there!) Happy reading!


	23. Chapter 22

Chapter 22: "It's been awhile since I've had a sleepover with my friends and you are long overdue for a Gilmore Movie Night."

* * *

"Rory, come on. We really don't want to be late," Tristan called up to her from the living room. He had been ready to go for an hour while Rory was taking her time, finding something wrong with each piece of clothing or jewelry, prompting her to change her entire outfit five times.

"Oh, I have no problem being late," Rory said, finally coming down the stairs, Tristan deciding not to acknowledge the fact she was wearing the same dress she had first put on two hours before, "In fact, it would be alright with me if we just skipped tonight's party all together. It's my grandmother that doesn't want us to be late."

"Mary, this party is for you. It would be a little odd if the guest of honor didn't show up to her own birthday party," Tristan said, "What's up with you? You seemed into the idea when Emily first asked if she could throw you one."

"I was. I still am, I guess. Between the campaign and my job after I haven't spent any time with my family on my birthday since my last year of college," Rory said, putting her sweater on as she and Tristan walked towards the door, "And it's been since my grandmother threw me a party for my twenty-first since I had a big celebration for it."

"Which is why I thought you were into the idea?" Tristan asked, holding her door open for her as they got to the car.

"I was until the day got here and I remembered how bad my last two birthday parties thrown by Emily Gilmore ended up," Rory said.

"I was at your sixteenth birthday and I thoroughly enjoyed myself," he said with a smirk, laying a hand on her thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"You enjoyed harassing me," Rory reminded him, removing his hand from her thigh, intertwining her fingers with his, "That party was a complete disaster. I had been at Chilton all of five minutes, having really only talked to you and Paris at that point and my grandmother thought it would be a good idea if she invited half the school."

"Yeah, I can see how that wouldn't have been fun for you," Tristan said.

"Not to mention the fight we had when she requested I speak to all the guests thanking them for coming," Rory said.

"Wow, I must have left before that," Tristan said, "I don't remember that."

"It was awful. Though that was nothing compared to the deep freeze of my twenty-first birthday," Rory said.

"What happened there?" he asked, turning down the street the Gilmore's lived on.

"Well, it wasn't a birthday I was really looking forward to as it was already in the middle of the freeze out between me and Mom," Rory told him, "We had my twenty-first birthday planned from the moment I could walk it seemed so not getting to go through with them really put me off celebrating."

"Completely understandable," Tristan said, "Why let Emily throw a party then?"

"I just wanted to get through the day and if I didn't let Grandma throw a party, Logan probably would have tried to do something big and extravagant and I didn't want that either so I just let the party happen," Rory said.

"So what happened to make this party so bad?" Tristan asked.

"A few days before both Grandma and Grandpa caught Logan and I making out and became worried we might be getting close to taking our relationship to the next step," Rory told him, laughing at the look on his face.

"But you had already…" he began.

"Yeah, but not like I announced it to them when it happened," Rory said. "So anyway, to be sure I made an informed decision on who I gave my "gift" to, they invited a minister over for dinner."

"I'm guessing you told the minister that "gift" was long gone and he told Richard and Emily."

"Yep and Grandpa spent the entire party in his study sulking while Grandma barely said two words to me."

"Damn," Tristan said, parking the car and turning to look at her, "While your last two birthdays here may not have gone as well as you've liked, that doesn't mean this one will."

"I know. It's not just the birthdays though," Rory told him, "The last party I ever had here was my graduation party and…"

"Logan proposed and you guys broke up the next day," Tristan said.

"Yeah."

"Rory, I'm not walking in there planning to walk out with you as my fiance."

"You're not?"

"While I'd love nothing more then for you to be wearing a ring on your finger that says you're mine, I'd rather not make a public event of it."

"Really?"

"Really. When it happens it will just be us and likely some random time that just feels right. I want our engagement day to be a celebration on it's own. Not something that happens the same day as something else."

"I like that idea," Rory said, leaning her head into his touch as he placed his hand on her cheek.

"Good, now, what do you say we put all the bad party mojo behind us and enjoy today?" Tristan asked.

"Let's go DuGrey," Rory said, kissing him quickly before opening her door.

"Right behind you, Gilmore," Tristan laughed, walking quickly to catch up to her as she walked away from the car.

* * *

Walking into her grandparents house, Rory was grateful to find that everyone her grandmother had invited she knew and actually knew really well. Emily had only invited family and some of Rory's friends, both from Stars Hollow and Yale, as well as a few of her former coworkers from The Post.

"Wow, I actually know everyone in this room," Rory said, walking with Tristan towards the bar to get drinks after they had said hello to her grandparents and his, as well as her Mother and Luke.

"Emily definitely kept it tame that's for sure," Tristan said, tipping the bartender as he handed him Rory's martini and his scotch.

"Hey, kiddo, Happy Birthday," Christopher said as he walked up to the bar to get a drink for himself, giving Rory a hug.

"Thanks, Dad," Rory said.

"Mr. Hayden, sir good to see you again," Tristan said, shaking his hand. They'd met a few times in the past year; Tristan and Rory having gone to Boston a few times to visit him and Rory's younger sister Gigi, but despite Christopher's insistence against it, Tristan still called him Mr. Hayden every time they saw each other.

"Christopher, please or Chris if you prefer," he said.

"Sorry, old habits, society and military," Tristan said.

"Yet you have no problem calling Mom, Lorelai," Rory said.

"She scares me and fear is a pretty intimidating tactic to get what you want," Tristan said.

"Lorelai can be scary when she wants to be," Christopher agreed with a laugh, enjoying the idea of this soldier being intimidated by his girlfriend's mother, "So, you get any big gifts for your birthday?"

"Unless there is something monumental in that pile over there, no, nothing big so far," Rory said, pointing towards the gift pile near the door, "Tris did give me these earrings to match the necklace he got me last year."

"Necklace last year, earrings this year," Christopher said, "Will there be a ring next year?"

"Dad!" Rory warned.

"Fair question, Ror, you've been together for a year and have known each other since you were sixteen," Christopher said, "I'm curious to know Tristan's intentions."

"Yes, Chris, there will be a ring at some point in the future," Tristan said, "The when exactly is still up in the air, but it's in the plan. When I know for sure, I'll be paying you a visit."

"Alright. I look forward to it," Christopher said, smiling as he walked away.

"Was it just me or did he seem overly happy about the prospect of being asked for his daughter's hand in marriage?" Tristan asked.

"He's never been asked before and it will be awhile still for Gigi, she's only eight," Rory said, "He wasn't expecting for that moment to come for another fifteen years or so."

"Logan didn't ask him?" Tristan wondered.

"No. They only met twice before and the first time was not a good experience," Rory said, making a mental note to share that with him later, "Plus with Mom really being the one to raise me, I guess he felt it more appropriate to ask her."

"I guess that makes sense," Tristan said, "I was planning on asking her and Luke, too."

"Really?" Rory asked.

"I want everyone important to you to know that I'm in this forever before I put that ring on your finger," Tristan said.

"That's sweet, Tris," Rory said.

"Don't spread it around. It'll ruin my bad boy image," Tristan said, laying his hand on her back as they began to move back throughout the room to greet more of the guests.

* * *

"Reporter Girl!" Rory heard called from behind her as she and Tristan stood talking with his grandparents a little later in the evening.

"Steph, it's so good to see you," Rory said turning around to give her old friend a hug. They had kept in contact after the New Year's Eve party, but both had been busy the last few months to get together.

"Happy Birthday, Love," Finn said, hugging her once Stephanie had let her go.

"Thanks, Finn," Rory said, "I'm so glad you're all here."

"Anything for you, Ace," Logan told her, joining their little gathering.

"Anything for me or my grandmother's taste in party food and endless alcohol?" Rory asked.

"Mostly you, a little on the food, and definitely the alcohol," Logan said, "Your grandparents only buy the best scotch."

"I can attest to that," Tristan said, raising his glass, drinking the last of it, "I'm going to get a refill. Anyone else?"

"I'm good," Rory told him.

"I'll join you," Logan said, "Ash?"

"Manhattan, please," Ashlee told Logan.

"How are the wedding plans going?" Rory asked Ashlee once Logan and Tristan had left to get drinks and the others left to say hello to other friends.

"Really good. It's exhausting, that's for sure," Ashlee told her, "I'm half tempted with every phone call from Shira to tell Logan I just want to elope."

"She wants a big society wedding and you don't, right?" Rory asked.

"Right. There are things I like. Getting married at the Vineyard, it's gorgeous there," Ashlee said.

"Definitely. It's been awhile since I've been, but a wedding there would be amazing," Rory said.

"Yeah so I love that and while we agreed on the colors, we continue to go back and forth on the flowers," Ashlee said, "We're getting married at the yacht club so we'll be right on the beach. I'd like to have multi-colored wildflowers lining the aisle and scattered on the beach. Shira wants roses, just roses. And then there's the whole dress debacle."

"Your wedding dress?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. Ever since I was a little girl I had this image in my mind of what I wanted my dress to be. I even drew it out a bunch of times and when Logan proposed I went to my parents house and dug out some old boxes and found all my drawings of it," Ashlee said, "I showed them to my mom and to Shira and while they agreed something custom made was the way to go, especially for the bride of the Huntzberger heir according to Shira, a custom design should be done up by a professional."

"Oh, that's awful. Your mother agreed to this?" Rory asked, "She didn't side with you on wanting your design?"

"She said it was cute, but with the Huntzbergers place in society she felt something fancier designed by someone who does it for a living would look better," Ashlee said, "They want as many names attached to the wedding as possible."

"That's terrible. You and Logan are paying for the wedding yourself, right?" Rory asked.

"Yeah. that took some arguing as well. Both families finding the idea ridiculous that Logan and I want to fund everything on our own," Ashlee said, "We keep trying to use that to convince our parents to let us do things how we want."

"It's your wedding. No matter who is paying for it, it's your day, you decide," Rory said, "If you really want your wedding dress the way you imagined it then make it happen. Find someone to make your dress the way you want it, to hell with whatever anyone else wants. Yours and Logan's are the only opinions that matter."

"Matter about what?" Logan asked, joining them along with Tristan, hearing the last of their conversation.

"Our wedding. Rory asked how the plans were going," Ashlee told him.

"Ah, she tell you about our mother's stance on the dress?" Logan asked.

"Yes and it's ridiculous. If you love the dress and you look gorgeous in it, it shouldn't matter if it came from Vera Wang or Filene's Basement," Rory said, "As long as you get that feeling when you try it on, that's all that matters."

"What feeling?" Ashlee asked.

"The feeling where the moment you have it on you never want to take it off. When you counting down the days and minutes and when the week before you find yourself trying it on every day just to get that feeling again," Rory said.

"Pretty insightful for someone that's never been married before," Tristan said.

"It's how my grandma was before she married my grandpa and Mom before she married Luke," Rory said, "The moment they put on their dress they just knew. Does the design you have give you that feeling?"

"When I pulled out my drawings of it I cried," Ashlee said, "I could see it on and feel the lace. It's my dress."

"Then let's make it happen," Rory said, "Tomorrow you and I will start looking for someone to make you your perfect dress."

* * *

"I can't get over how amazing this room is," Stephanie said as she sat down on the sofa in the theater of Rory and Tristan's house. During the times they've got together since New Year's, they'd been getting together for lunch on occasion in the city and partaking in movie nights at Rory and Tristan's.

"Are you sure it's cool with Tristan that we're honing in on the remainder of your birthday?" Ashlee asked from her spot in the floor as she leaned against the couch.

"Totally, that party wasn't exactly my idea of fun so I'm glad you all were able to come over," Rory said, "It's been awhile since I've had a sleepover with my friends and you are long overdue for a Gilmore Movie Night."

"What are we starting with?" Lorelai asked, joining Rory and Stephanie on the couch, walking in with snacks while Lane carried in a few pizzas.

"Well I promised Ashlee I'd help her track down someone to make her dream wedding dress so I thought we'd do a wedding theme," Rory said.

"So, The Wedding Singer first?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course," Rory said as Lorelai went to the DVD player to put their first movie in.

* * *

They were able to make it through The Wedding Planner and start their third movie, Wedding Crashers before sleep began to take some of them over. Sunday morning Rory woke to find all her friends asleep in various places in the theater. Finding her mother absent from the room she went in search of her in the kitchen.

"I figured I'd find you near the coffee pot," Rory said, taking a seat at the counter, accepting the cup of coffee from Lorelai, "What were you working on?"

"Oh, nothing," Lorelai said, quickly grabbing the stack of papers off the counter Rory had been looking at, one piece of paper falling to the ground.

"Ashlee's drawing? Why do you have this?" Rory asked.

"We were the last one's up and I asked her about it," Lorelai said, "She showed it to me and this morning when I woke up I got inspired."

"Let me see," Rory asked, holding her hand out to see what Lorelai had been working on.

"Now you can totally say no. I haven't said anything to Ashlee and she may not even like it or think the idea is totally crazy, which it is," Lorelai said, "I always imagined myself making your wedding dress."

"You still can, Mom," Rory told her, looking at the drawing Lorelai had made. She had copies Ashlee's almost exactly, adding a few changes and extra flourishes here and there, "Making Ashlee's dress first isn't going to stop that or make me want someone else to do it. I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it so I didn't suggest it."

"But…" Lorelai said.

"But, I think you should it. Assuming, Ashlee and Logan are cool with it," Rory said, "This is amazing, Mom. This design is gorgeous."

* * *

After having breakfast, while the rest of the girls went off to take showers and dress for the day, Rory and Lorelai stayed in the kitchen with Ashlee to discuss the idea of Lorelai designing Ashlee's wedding dress.

"Ashlee did I ever show you a picture of my first Chilton dance?" Rory asked her.

"No, why?" Ashlee asked.

"Hold on, let me just get a picture to show you," Rory said.

"Get one from graduation as well," Lorelai told her.

"Right and Romeo and Juliet," Rory said, grabbing a couple of photo albums from the living room shelves, bringing them into the kitchen.

"Who's the guy?" Ashlee asked, looking at the picture of Rory and Dean.

"First boyfriend, doesn't matter right now," Rory said, "Ignore the guy, focus on the dress."

"Your dress is beautiful," Ashlee said, moving on to look at a picture of Rory from her Chilton graduation, "It is in this one, too and the costumes are cool. Why are you showing me these?"

"How would you feel if the person who made those costumes and both of those dresses Rory is wearing made your wedding dress?" Lorelai asked, laying her drawing of Ashlee's dress down in front of her.

"You made all of these, Lorelai?" Ashlee asked.

"I did. We didn't have a lot of money when Rory was little so I used to make a lot of her clothes, mine too sometimes," Lorelai said.

"She also made our bridesmaid dresses for Sookie's wedding," Rory said, flipping one of the books a few pages to show a picture of them to Ashlee.

"Gorgeous," Ashlee said, "You want to make my wedding dress, Lorelai? That won't be weird?"

"Probably, but who cares," Lorelai said, "You have the vision of what you want your dress to be. I can make that vision a reality."

"And it wouldn't be the first wedding dress she's made," Lane said, joining them in the kitchen.

"Oh yeah, I forgot Mom made your dress," Rory said.

"Is it in here?" Ashlee asked.

"Um, yeah, should be," Rory said as she took a book and flipped a couple of pages until she found pictures from Lane's wedding.

"Wow, you look amazing Lane," Ashlee said.

"Thanks, Lorelai did wonders with that dress and I was so grateful," Lane said, "Mama wanted me to wear her dress and it came with pants."

"Pants?" Ashlee asked.

"Pants. It was bad," Lane said.

"Thankfully, it had a little accident with a cup of coffee so I was able to make Lane the dress of her dreams," Lorelai said.

"You really want to do this," Ashlee said, looking at the drawing Lorelai made, her eyes lighting up the more she looked at it.

"I really want to do this. I was inspired when you show me your drawing. I want to make this your dream dress," Lorelai told her.

"You're cool with this, Rory?" Ashlee asked her.

"Absolutely," Rory told her, "You deserve the best dress you can get and a Lorelai Gilmore is the best they come if you ask me."

"Thank you. I can't wait to get started on this and try it on," Ashlee said.

"Great. I'll take some measurements today to get started and we can plan a time to go shopping for fabric and finalize exactly what you want," Lorelai told her.

"Sounds good."


End file.
